Zachary T. Lee Acting United States Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia
A Buchanan, Virginia man has entered a guilty plea to federal charges of child sexual exploitation and possession of child pornography. Christopher Buono, 45, admitted to the charges last week following an incident at his residence in January 2024.
Court documents reveal that during a party at Buono's home, he took sexually explicit photographs of a six-year-old girl in his game room. The photographs were taken on his cellphone after the child's genitals were exposed. Buono later sent one of these images to another person with a sexual interest in minors using a messaging application.
Buono is now facing up to forty years in federal prison as part of his sentencing.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee. The investigation was carried out by the Department of Homeland Security with help from the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Scheff is handling the prosecution.
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in 2006 aimed at protecting children from exploitation and abuse through collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies.
For further information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
