Sandra J. Hairston United States Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of North Carolina
Two men from North Carolina have been sentenced to over ten years in prison each for possession of child pornography. The sentences were handed down by Senior United States District Judge Catherine C. Eagles at the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Acting United States Attorney Randall S. Galyon announced the sentencing.
David Arnold Sharpe, 41, from Davidson County, received a sentence of 228 months in prison and 20 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography. This sentence will run consecutively with a 24-month sentence due to the revocation of supervised release in a previous case.
Court documents revealed that Sharpe, a registered sex offender on federal supervised release, admitted to his probation officer that he possessed an unauthorized device containing child pornography. A search by United States Probation Officers at Sharpe's residence led to the discovery of a cell phone with child pornography. Less than three weeks later, investigators from the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office identified Sharpe after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about suspected uploads of child pornography on Facebook by a user in Davidson County. Further investigation showed that Sharpe had been trading child pornography online.
On March 14, 2025, Luigi Carciati, 49, from Davie County, was sentenced to 168 months imprisonment followed by 15 years of supervised release for possessing child pornography in October 2023. He was also ordered to pay $74,000 in restitution. NCMEC tips led to a search warrant execution at Carciati’s Mocksville residence where investigators found devices containing child pornography. It was also discovered that Carciati had secretly recorded minors in the bathroom at La Vita e Bella, his restaurant in Mocksville. During another search at the restaurant, two hidden cameras were found in the women’s restroom and one more under the cash register.
The investigations into both cases involved multiple agencies including local sheriff's offices, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI), Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), and the United States Probation Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Kennedy Gates and Karla Painter prosecuted both cases.
These cases are part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating online child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local resources.
