Carteret County Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Producing Child Pornography

<_w3a_sdt combobox="t" docpart="AC9548FB7B2F4F589592719CCB3B5554" id="-150998209" sdttag="Location" title="Location"><_w3a_listitem datavalue="RALEIGH" listvalue="RALEIGH"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="GREENVILLE" listvalue="GREENVILLE"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="NEW BERN" listvalue="NEW BERN"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="WILMINGTON" listvalue="WILMINGTON"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="ELIZABETH CITY" listvalue="ELIZABETH CITY"> RALEIGH, N.C. - A Carteret County man was sentenced today to 360 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography, including videos in which the defendant is sexually abusing a minor. The investigation ultimately found a collection of more than 1,000 images of child pornography in the possession of the defendant. The Court ordered $56,000 in restitution for the victim. Lester David Gillberg, 33, pled guilty in March of 2023.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, the Carteret County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) and the Department of Homeland Security launched an investigation into Gillberg in June 2022 for child exploitation offenses following a cybertip that the CCSO received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Dropbox had reported one of its users had uploaded images depicting the sexual abuse of children. The IP address used to upload the images came back to the residence in which Gillberg was living. When investigators visited Gillberg's residence, Gillberg initially denied knowing anything about child pornography then changed his story and told investigators he received child pornography in a chat group and that he uploaded the files to his Dropbox account so he could report it to the authorities. Gillberg said he forgot to make a police report.

During the 2022 investigation, one of Gillberg's family members told investigators that Gillberg had been investigated for child pornography in Kansas a few years prior. Gillberg was arrested on state warrants and digital devices were seized for analysis. Investigators confirmed that in 2019 law enforcement in Kansas investigated Gillberg after Dropbox reported one of its users had uploaded child pornography. The email used for the uploads was linked to Gillberg. Gillberg claimed he recently discovered his phone had been stolen months ago.

In October 2022, a family member reported to law enforcement they found a computer and cell phone they believed belonged to Gillberg that contained child pornography. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant to examine the devices. The phone turned out to be the phone Gillberg had reported stolen in the 2019 Kansas investigation. When the media files on the phone were examined law enforcement found evidence Gillberg had been taking images of videos of him sexually assaulting a child with whom he had contact. The investigation showed Gillberg had distributed the images he produced of the child and had conversations with others online about the sexual abuse of children. Investigators found that Gillberg had a collection of over 1,000 images depicting the sexual abuse of children.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after the sentencing was concluded. <_w3a_sdt combobox="t" docpart="AC9548FB7B2F4F589592719CCB3B5554" id="-2024937349" sdttag="Judge" title="Judge"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle" listvalue="U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan" listvalue="U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III" listvalue="U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II" listvalue="Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt" listvalue="Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard" listvalue="Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard"> U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III presided over the sentencing. The Carteret County Sheriff's Office, the Department of Homeland Security and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney <_w3a_sdt docpart="2B84C60C296B44D290CC911CC38CDA5A" id="-1618521751" sdttag="AUSA/SAUSA" title="AUSA/SAUSA">Charity Wilson prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. <_w3a_sdt id="-2067410867" sdttag="Case No." title="Case No.">4:23-CR-43-D

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