Virginia Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Distributing Child Pornography

WACO – A Virginia man was sentenced in federal court today to 20 years in prison for distribution of sexual abuse material involving a minor. 

On November 9, 2021, Daniel Price, 37, of Galax, VA., was charged with two counts of knowingly distributing and attempting to distribute visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  On August 29, 2023, Price pleaded guilty to both charges in federal court.

According to court documents, in February 2021, a mother contacted the Waco Police Department and related her 11-year-old’s phone contained sexually explicit images and messages between her child and Price.  Investigation determined Price coerced the child to send sexually explicit photos and videos.  Price also sent images of his genitalia to the victim. 

In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright ordered Price to pay $3,000 in restitution to his victim and to serve a lifetime of supervised release after he serves his prison term.

“As this case demonstrates, those intent on harming our children don’t have to live in close proximity to their victims,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza.  “Price was over a thousand miles away from this minor when he perpetrated this crime.  I applaud the victim’s mother for bringing these crimes to the Waco Police Department’s attention.  As a community we all need to be vigilant in protecting our children from predators such as Price.”

The Waco Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory S. Gloff prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as 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.

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