Charlotte Man Sentenced To 11 Years On Child Pornography Charges

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -  A Charlotte man was sentenced today to 11 years in prison for possession and transportation of child pornography, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney ordered David Lee Young, II, 24, to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to register as a sex offender upon release from prison. Young pleaded guilty in March 2016 to three counts of transportation and one count of possession of child pornography.

Nick Annan, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department join U.S. Attorney Rose in making today’s announcement.

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea and to information introduced at sentencing, in October 2014, Young shared child pornography at least three times with an undercover agent over the Internet via a peer-2-peer network.  During a subsequent search of Young’s residence, agents seized a desktop computer and a laptop.  Forensic analyses of those devices revealed that Young possessed 29 videos of child pornography, some of which depicted prepubescent minors engaging in sadistic and masochistic conduct.  Court records show that the child pornography in Young’s possession included at least 13 different children already identified by law enforcement as victims of child pornography.

Young is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.  All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

U.S. Attorney Rose thanked HSI and CMPD for their investigation of this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cortney Randall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte was in charge of the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice, aimed at combating the growing online sexual exploitation of children.By combining resources, federal, state and local agencies are better able to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue those victims.For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov