WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Gavin Collins, of Newell, West Virginia, was sentenced to 300 months of incarceration this week for a child pornography charge, Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Collins, 30, pleaded guilty in May 2021 to one count of “Production of Child Pornography by Person Having Custody or Control.” Collins admitted to producing child pornography with a minor in his custody from September 2018 to July 2020 in Hancock.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Danae DeMasi-Lemon prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated.
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.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
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