An Independence, Kentucky resident, Ralph Britton, aged 55, received a prison sentence of 84 months for transporting child pornography across state lines using a computer or cell phone. Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning delivered the sentence on Thursday.
Britton's plea agreement reveals that on December 28, 2023, authorities were alerted to 18 video files of child pornography uploaded from a Synchronoss account, a service used by Verizon Wireless customers. This account was traced back to Britton. The investigation also found a total of 33 videos linked to his account. Following his arrest on February 8, 2024, a search of his cell phone uncovered an additional 896 images of child sexual abuse and software typically used to delete illegal files from devices.
Britton is required by federal law to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. After serving his time, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 15 years.
Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, announced the sentence alongside Quincy Barnett, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Louisville Field Office, and Sheriff Les Hill of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation was carried out by the FBI and Boone County Sheriff's Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Winslow prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to tackle the child sexual exploitation and abuse epidemic. It aims to unify federal, state, and local resources to find, arrest, and prosecute offenders exploiting children online and to help rescue victims. More information is available at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
