Chesapeake man sentenced to 11 years in child pornography case

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man was sentenced Tuesday to 132 months in prison and 20 years of supervised release for receipt of child pornography. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Chesapeake Police Department.

Charles Gibbons, 48, must also pay a fine of $35,000.

According to court documents, in May 2014, the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office conducted an undercover investigation into people using peer-to-peer file sharing programs to distribute child pornography online. Law enforcement downloaded numerous images of child pornography from Gibbons’ computer, which led them to his residence where they executed a search warrant and seized numerous items of computer media. A subsequent forensic analysis of the computer media revealed that Gibbons had more than 6,400 images and 1,000 video files of child pornography.

Gibbons pleaded guilty Sept. 9.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.