CAMDEN, N.J. - An Orange, Virginia, man today admitted possessing videos of child sexual abuse while imprisoned at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix for previous offenses involving the possession and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Anthony C. Jeffries, 32, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Jeffries admitted that he possessed a micro SD Card containing 40 videos of children being sexually abused, including videos of sadistic and masochistic sexual conduct involving infants and toddlers. In connection with his plea, Jeffries also admitted that he was an organizer of criminal activity in the case and that he distributed child pornography to another inmate which had been obtained from the internet.
Jeffries and seven other inmates were arrested in April 2017 and February 2018 following an FBI investigation involving multiple covert recordings and several cooperating inmates. The investigation revealed that Jeffries and other inmates utilized contraband cellphones, micro SD cards, and access to the internet to obtain, view, and distribute child pornography within the prison. Jeffries organized and helped facilitate this criminal activity by maintaining cloud accounts that were used as repositories for obtaining child pornography.
At sentencing, Jeffries faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2018.
Charges remain pending against Brian J. McKay, 47, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania; Christopher D. Roffler, 30, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Jordan T. Allen, 31, of Plain City, Ohio; Jacob S. Good, 26, of Fredericksburg, Virginia; William H. Noble, 52, of Lowell, Massachusetts; and Charles Wesley Bush, 38, of Knoxville, Tennessee, all of whom were serving sentences for prior child pornography offenses while committing the alleged crimes in this case. The pending charges and allegations are merely accusations, and these defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
An eighth inmate, Erik M. Smith, 36, of Iron Mountain, Michigan, has since pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. His sentencing is scheduled for May 7, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley W. Cohen in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked officials of the Bureau of Prisons at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gabriel J. Vidoni and Alyson M. Oswald of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Christopher O’Malley Esq., Camden
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
