Source: Office of United States Attorneys
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Robert Upchurch, 52, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 54 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Upchurch was also ordered to pay a $17,000 special assessment for the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, in July 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) referred a tip to law enforcement that a Dropbox account user had uploaded numerous images containing suspected CSAM. Law enforcement identified Upchurch as the Dropbox account user. On December 8, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Upchurch’s residence, seizing the defendant’s cell phone, computers, and other electronic devices. A forensic analysis of the seized items revealed that they contained more than 5,800 images and 2,500 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including infants and toddlers, and files depicting sadistic or masochistic behavior or violence involving young children. During an interview with law enforcement, Upchurch first denied possessing CSAM, but later admitted to viewing child pornography.
On September 4, 2024, Upchurch pleaded guilty to possession and accessing with intent to view child pornography containing a minor who had not attained the age of 12 years.
The FBI and CMPD investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.