Defendant faces up to 40 years in federal prison and up to life on federal supervised release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Kanawha County man pleaded guilty today to a child pornography crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Christopher Chad Winnell, 36, of Marmet, entered his guilty plea to two counts of distribution of child pornography.
Winnell admitted that on Dec. 20, 2014, he engaged in an email conversation from his residence discussing the exchange of child pornography. Winnell further admitted that the email discussion resulted in the exchange of child pornography images involving infants. Winnell also admitted that on November 7, 2015, he used a messaging service to share an image of child pornography involving an infant with multiple individuals. The investigation determined that the image was received by at least one individual in Canada. The investigation further revealed that Winnell possessed hundreds of images of child pornography stored in an online account.
Winnell faces at least 10 and up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on March 20, 2018. Upon his release from prison, he will be required to serve a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the West Virginia State Police, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
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.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
