Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jonathan Levi Rider, 19, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to possession of prepubescent child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 17, 2022, Rider possessed videos on his cell phone depicting minors subjected to sexually explicit conduct. Rider admitted that he had downloaded the videos to his phone and further admitted that one of the videos depicted an adult male sexually abusing a prepubescent girl.

Rider is scheduled to be sentenced on November 9, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Rider must also register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the West Virginia State Police.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Julie M. White is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of 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 Offices 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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-24. 

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