Whispering Pines Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Whispering Pines man and registered sex offender was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for possession of child pornography. Adam Mitchum Bailey, 44, was previously convicted on separate charges of child pornography possession in October of 2018. Bailey was charged with new child pornography charges in March of 2021. On August 22, 2022, Bailey pled guilty to possession of child pornography.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Bailey pled guilty to the possession of child pornography and was sentenced in March 2019 to 24 months in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and 10 years of supervised release. Halfway through his time in BOP, he was transferred to the Austin Wilkes Society re-entry facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina to complete his sentence, and was released in November 2020. Days before his release, facility staff discovered and searched an unauthorized cellphone found on Bailey’s bed, revealing images of child pornography. Evidence within the phone indicated that it belonged to Bailey.

The cellphone, along with another cellphone confiscated from Bailey several weeks earlier, were turned over to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Computer Crimes Unit. The second phone was also found to contain child pornography. In an interview with Bailey, he admitted to using both cellphones and electronically searching for the child pornography images.

Forensic examination of the phones recovered numerous files containing child pornography, including images of children under the age of 12. As a repeat offender, Bailey was subject to enhanced statutory minimums.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Computer Crimes Unit and the Bureau of Prisons investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan M. Stephany  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00147-D.