Local Music Volunteer Convicted of Production of Child Pornography

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – David Alexander Battle II, 24, who served as a volunteer with the music program at Grace E. Metz Middle School in Manassas, was convicted today by a federal jury on four counts of production of child pornography, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, receipt of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography.

Battle was arrested by the Manassas City Police Department on June 16, 2015, after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence and discovered evidence of child pornography, including two gigabytes of videos that appeared to be child pornography involving infants. Other evidence found at Battle’s residence included child pornography primarily of young boys and girls.

Battle was initially charged on Aug. 6, 2015, and was charged by superseding indictment on Feb. 11, 2016.  According to court records and evidence at trial, an Internet Protocol address linked to Battle was used to share child sexual exploitation via webcam on a chat website in April 2015.  Battle also posed as a minor girl on another chat platform and chatted with minor boys, coercing and enticing them to send him sexually explicit images of themselves, according to evidence presented at trial.  The evidence demonstrated that the defendant personally knew two of the boys he chatted with on this platform.

Battle faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison when sentenced on June 10, 2016.  The statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Douglas W. Keen, Manassas City Chief of Police; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Prabhu and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Britsch are prosecuting the case. The Herndon Police Department and the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) assisted in the investigation.

This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-274.