NORFOLK, Va. - Aaron Michael Burns, 26, of Norfolk, was sentenced today to 312 months in prison for production of child pornography. In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, he was sentenced to a term of lifetime supervised release.
Burns pleaded guilty on July 8, 2015. According to court documents, in June 2013, a three year-old girl was taken to a local emergency room because she claimed her live-in babysitter, defendant Burns, had touched her genitals. Burns was arrested by Norfolk Police Department (NPD), but left his computer powered on at the victim’s residence. The victim’s father saw a desktop folder on the computer labeled “child-sex." Subsequent to a search warrant, NPD searched and seized a number of Burns’ computer devices. Forensic examinations by NPD and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) revealed over 20 images of the victim engaging in sexually explicit conduct another set of sexually explicit images of an unidentified toddler, and numerous images that Burns downloaded from the Internet.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI); and Michael Goldsmith, Chief of Norfolk Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:14-cr-9.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
