HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A Cabell County man was sentenced today to spend seven years in federal prison for child pornography crimes, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Scott Edward Riggs, 41, of Huntington, previously entered his guilty plea to distribution of child pornography in March. Stuart commended the investigative work of the Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations, the West Virginia State Police, and the Queensland (Australia) Police Service.
“A despicable crime," said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “We work with law enforcement across the United States and abroad to protect our children from pedophiles like Riggs. This case is particularly pathetic."
Riggs admitted to using his phone to secretly record a video of a minor in the shower at his residence in Cabell County in late 2017. Riggs then extracted still images from the video depicting the 13-year-old minor and uploaded the images of child pornography to an image-hosting website. He admitted that he knew that other users would be able to access, view, and download the images of child pornography from the website.
Riggs will be placed on federal supervised release for 15 years following his release from prison. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald handled the prosecution. The sentencing hearing was held before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
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
