A man previously convicted of child exploitation has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson, announced that Justin Matthew Adkins, aged 40 from Marion, North Carolina, will also serve a lifetime of supervised release and must register as a sex offender upon his release.
Adkins had been convicted earlier in Buncombe County for Second-Degree Exploitation of a Minor and served time in state custody until April 2023. He was under post-release supervision until 2028 when law enforcement conducted a probation search at his home on November 7, 2023. During this search by officers from the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, deputies from the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office, and deputy marshals from the U.S. Marshals Service, CSAM was found on Adkins's electronic devices along with narcotics and drug paraphernalia.
A forensic analysis by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) revealed thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent children on Adkins's devices. It was also discovered that he had distributed CSAM online.
Adkins pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography on December 18, 2024. He remains in federal custody and will be transferred to a federal facility once designated.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson acknowledged the efforts of HSI in Greenville, the U.S. Marshals Service, the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, and the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office in this case. Assistant United States Attorney Alexis Solheim prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local resources.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
