James Davis, 36, of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, was sentenced on July 15 in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Pirro said, “James Davis exploited online anonymity to engage in the abuse of children and to seek out other predators. When investigators closed in, he attempted to destroy evidence rather than take responsibility. This office will continue to track down offenders who believe they can hide behind digital shadows.”
Davis pleaded guilty on January 7 before Judge Amir H. Ali to distribution of child pornography under the online screen name “Ulphednar.” In addition to a five-year prison sentence, Judge Ali ordered Davis to serve ten years of supervised release.
According to court documents, the investigation began when a law enforcement officer working undercover for the Metropolitan Police Department-FBI Child Exploitation Task Force encountered Davis on a website used for trading child sexual abuse material. Davis exchanged messages with the undercover officer and later continued conversations through a messaging application. During these exchanges, Davis said he had sexually abused a minor over several years and sent images depicting this abuse. He also exchanged similar material with other users and discussed shared sexual interest in children.
On April 11, 2025, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Davis’s residence; as agents arrived, he attempted to destroy a cellphone containing evidence related to the offense. After waiving his Miranda rights, Davis admitted trading child sexual abuse material online.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation Task Force in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department and FBI’s Seattle Field Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Shinskie of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia as part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative created by the Department of Justice in February 2006 aimed at protecting children from online exploitation and abuse.