Athens Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Child

ATHENS, Ga. - An Athens resident received the statutory maximum prison sentence allowed under federal guidelines for the sexual exploitation of a 7-year-old child resulting from a Project Safe Childhood investigation.

Chris Adam Valentine, 37, was sentenced to serve 360 months in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release and $90,000 restitution by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. "Tripp" Self, III on Dec. 10. In addition, Valentine will have to register as a sex offender upon release from prison. Valentine previously pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child on May 28. There is no parole in the federal system.

"Our office is determined to identify and remove child predators from our communities and hold them fully accountable for their heinous crimes," said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. "Protecting the most vulnerable citizens from harm is a priority for law enforcement at every level."

"Thanks to the diligent efforts of Homeland Security Investigations and its law enforcement partners, this predator will now spend three decades behind bars for his appalling actions," said Steven N. Schrank, the Special Agent in Charge of HSI Atlanta, which covers Georgia and Alabama. "This investigation underscores our commitment to protecting vulnerable individuals and pursuing justice for those who seek to exploit and harm children."

"Cases like these exemplify the value of partnerships between local, state and federal agencies," said Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Jerry Saulters. "These heinous crimes will not be tolerated in our community. We will continue to work with our partners to protect the children of this community and will pursue those who prey on them."

According to the plea agreement, Valentine admitted that between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022, he used his cellular phone to film a 7-year-old child engage in sexual conduct with an adult male.

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 the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Peach prosecuted the case for the Government.