Previously convicted child sexual offender pleads guilty to transportation of child sexual abuse material

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A Newport News man with multiple previous convictions for child sexual offenses pled guilty today to transportation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, on April 11, 12, and 27, 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received Cybertipline reports of files containing CSAM uploaded to a Google account. The files were uploaded by Justus Clay Pease, 51, a registered sex offender who was convicted in Hampton Circuit Court in 2005 of two counts of indecent liberties with a child by a custodian and in 2007 of one count of indecent liberties with children.

In addition to the CSAM identified in the reports to NCMEC that was uploaded to Pease's Google account, Pease's Google Photos account included more files containing CSAM.

Pease is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 16, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 40 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Norfolk Field Office; and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Heath is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:24-cr-28.