Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Billy J. Griffith, 58, of St. Albans, was sentenced today to 11 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for receipt of child pornography and possession of prepubescent child pornography. Griffith must also register as a sex offender.
A federal jury found Griffith guilty on June 15, 2023, following a two-day trial. Evidence at trial showed that on August 24, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Griffith’s Baier Street residence. Officers obtained the search warrant for Griffith’s residence after tracing an Internet Protocol (IP) address that had been used to download multiple digital media files of child pornography. Griffith was an auxiliary officer with the St. Albans Police Department at the time of the search, and had been for approximately seven years. Griffith was also an exterminator, and his wife operated a child daycare at the residence.
Officers seized numerous electronic devices during the search of Griffith’s residence, including an external hard drive, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and a cell phone. Griffith told officers that the electronic devices were his and that he had sole access to the computers and cell phone through password protections. An analysis found digital media files of child pornography on all four electronic devices, totaling 3,383 images and four video files.
United States Attorney Will Thompson and Assistant United States Attorneys Julie M. White, Andrew J. Tessman and J. Parker Bazzle II prosecuted the case.
“I am proud to work with all our law enforcement partners. I helped try this case personally because Mr. Griffith betrayed his position of trust in the community with criminal conduct that involved the degradation of prepubescent minors,” Thompson said. “I commend the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and our other law enforcement partners who investigated this case and analyzed the evidence.”
“Today’s sentence should serve as a reminder to all predators. We will not allow crimes against children to go unpunished,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek. “The FBI and our partners will continue to find, arrest, and prosecute those who seek to exploit our most vulnerable population, no matter who they are or what their profession is.”
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-218.
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