U.S. Attorney Dena J. King | U.S. Department of Justice
Jacob Elijah Kilgore, a 29-year-old resident of Boone, North Carolina, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for using the dark web to transport child pornography. This announcement was made by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to his prison term, Kilgore will face a lifetime of supervised release and is required to register as a sex offender upon release.
The case involved multiple agencies including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, led by Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant, and the Boone Police Department under Chief Andy LeBeau.
Court documents reveal that in February 2023, law enforcement identified Kilgore's use of the dark web to distribute over 150 videos and images depicting child sexual abuse. A search warrant executed on February 23 at Kilgore's residence led to the seizure of a homemade laptop with 11 integrated hard drives containing extensive illicit content. The analysis showed more than 66 hours of video footage and around 55 gigabytes of image files, some involving very young children.
Kilgore admitted during an interview with authorities that he accessed the dark web for downloading such material and used peer-to-peer networks for distribution.
On December 8, 2023, Kilgore pleaded guilty to charges related to transporting child pornography. He remains in federal custody pending transfer to a designated federal facility.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell emphasized that "this kind of conduct leads to long prison sentences."
The investigation was conducted by HSI and the Boone Police Department with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Cervantes prosecuted the case.
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation online through coordinated efforts among various levels of law enforcement.
