Cary Man Sentenced to More Than 5 Years Imprisonment on Child Pornography Charges

RALEIGH — The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that yesterday, Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle, sentenced CHRISTOPHER THOMAS WARD, 37, of Cary, NC to 70 months imprisonment, followed by a ten year term of supervised release.  WARD pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement on September 25, 2019 to one count of receipt of child pornography. 

A 2017 investigation into a file sharing network identified WARD’s IP address as advertising known child pornography files, which were directly downloaded from WARD’s IP address on multiple dates.  Law enforcement identified WARD’s residence, and a search warrant was obtained.  Investigators executed the search warrant on December 15, 2017 and seized numerous electronic devices.

WARD agreed to speak with investigators and, during the interview, admitted to searching for, downloading and storing child pornography.  A forensic review of the seized devices determined that WARD had amassed hundreds of thousands of files containing child pornography images and videos.    

This case is part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.  For more information about this important national initiative, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The Cary Police Department (CPD), Cary, North Carolina, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted the investigation of this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Bryan M. Stephany represented the government.

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