Cabell County Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Cabell County man was sentenced today to 18 years for child pornography crimes, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  David Ray Pelfrey, 40, of Huntington, West Virginia, previously pled guilty to two counts of production of child pornography.  United States District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.  Pelfrey was ordered to serve 10 years on federal supervised release after completion of his prison term, and will also be required to register as a sex offender.  The investigation was conducted by the Huntington Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

“18 years.  Another child predator receives a well-deserved sentence,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “We are passionate about protecting our children and are working tirelessly to identify, investigate and prosecute perpetrators of these horrendous crimes.”

Pelfrey admitted that on May 20, 2017, he took a sexually explicit photograph of a 16-year-old female, and that on June 1, 2017, he took a video depicting himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct with the same minor female.  Pelfrey further admitted that he possessed at least one sexually explicit image of another minor female on his cell phone. 

Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa G. Johnston and Jennifer Rada Herrald are in charge of the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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