CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jonathan Richard Chapman, 42, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to attempted distribution of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from about June 5, 2021, until June 30, 2022, Chapman used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to make 704 digital media files of suspected child pornography available to others. Chapman admitted that the digital media files included an image depicting a prepubescent minor female subjected to sexually explicit conduct. Chapman further admitted to possessing 91 images of child pornography on his personal electronic devices on August 11, 2022. The child pornography included several images and videos depicting infants and toddlers subjected to sexually explicit conduct.
Chapman is scheduled to be sentenced on March 15, 2023, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
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).
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Julie 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. 2:22-cr-174.
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