Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced today that David Schaefer, age 27, formerly of Fort Benning, Georgia, was sentenced on March 31, 2015, to serve 8 years (97 months) imprisonment for possession of child pornography by the Honorable Clay D. Land, United States District Judge in Columbus, Georgia. Mr. Schaefer had entered a guilty plea to these charges on December 8, 2014.
This case was initiated in October, 2013, when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations were separately investigating the sharing of child pornography on the Ares peer-to-peer file sharing network. Both agencies downloaded child pornography from a user on the network that was ultimately identified as the defendant, David Schaefer. At that time Mr. Schaefer was an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Benning. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division executed a search warrant on the defendant’s home, resulting in a computer being seized that contained 368 videos and 27 images of suspected child pornography. These were subsequently submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which verified that three images and 46 movies contained sexually graphic depictions of confirmed minors previously identified by law enforcement.
“Child pornography involves the exploitation of the most vulnerable members of society and robs them of both their innocence and dignity at an early age, leaving scars that last a lifetime. My office views prosecutions such as this as one of our top priorities," said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore.
The case was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Army CID and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Crawford L. Seals prosecuted the case on behalf of the Government.
Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney’s Office at 478-621-2603.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
