Devin Lewis Vandeneynde, 27, of Ladson, was sentenced to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor.
Evidence presented to the Court showed that on January 9, 2020, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents at HSI Charlotte received information from HSI London in reference to a British target of investigation, who was a user on the social media platform Kik. The target had been exchanging child pornography with another Kik user with the username of “dadof2b.” HSI London had determined that “dadof2b” utilized an iPhone to access the Kik service and that the IP addresses were associated with Vandeneynde’s residence.
On February 6, 2020, HSI Charleston agents executed a federal search warrant on Vandeneynde’s residence. Vandeneynde confessed to possession of child pornography. Forensics review showed that Vandeneynde possessed less than 20 images of child pornography, including images of prepubescent minors. The investigation further revealed that Vandeneynde was convicted in 2019 at a General Court-Martial of Wrongful Possession of Child Pornography and Distribution of Child Pornography and sentenced to six months confinement and a dishonorable discharge from the United States Army.
United States District Judge David C. Norton sentenced Vandeneynde to 48 months imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by HSI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean H. Secor prosecuted the case.
Original source can be found here.
