Kanawha County Man Sentenced to Prison for Child Pornography Crime

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Jerry Dewayne Carroll, 43, of Crown Hill, was sentenced today to seven years in prison, to be followed by 20 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution for possession of prepubescent child pornography. Carroll must also register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about April 10, 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant for Carroll's person and seized his cell phone. A search of Carroll's cell phone revealed 2,087 images of child pornography, including images depicting the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers by adult men and through the use of animals. A search of Carroll's encrypted cloud storage account held by Mega Ltd., accessible through his seized cell phone, revealed an additional 82 videos of child pornography. The videos include footage of the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers, bestiality, and sadomasochistic material. The images and videos possessed by Carroll depict 56 known child victims.

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).

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Holly Wilson and Josh Hanks prosecuted 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. 3:23-cr-122.

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