Graham Daniel Ash, 41, from Pinson, Alabama, has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for the attempted sexual abuse of a minor in Washington D.C. and for distributing child pornography. The sentence announcement came from U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., along with Sean Ryan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Pamela Smith, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Ash admitted guilt on November 26, 2025, to the charge of coercion and enticement of a minor. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan has additionally mandated a lifetime of supervised release following his prison term.
The investigation began on August 29, 2023, when an officer from the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force communicated with an individual on an online platform who identified themselves as darkmind36, later confirmed as Ash. Posing as the father of an 8-year-old girl, the officer engaged in conversations with Ash, who expressed an interest in traveling to commit illegal acts. Ash provided a link to 60 files containing child sexual abuse material to validate his intentions and described previous efforts to contact children for abuse.
Officers executed a search warrant at Ash's residence in Alabama on October 3, 2023, following attempts to enter the property after announcing their presence. Upon entry, Ash was found with two damaged phones. He was subsequently arrested.
This conviction is Ash's second sex offense against a minor. In a previous case, he was convicted on July 22, 2022, for electronic solicitation of a child in Alabama. This earlier offense required him to register as a sex offender at the time of his latest crime.
The case was investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with support from Alabama law enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn Bond and Rachel Forman.
