Portsmouth man sentenced to 11 years for receiving child pornography

NORFOLK, Va. — A Portsmouth man was sentenced Monday to 132 months in prison, followed by a life term 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).

Justin Carter, 31, pleaded guilty Aug. 27. According to court documents, Carter used a computer at a friend’s home to solicit, receive and share images of child pornography. A forensic examination of the computer showed that Carter exchanged numerous emails with other individuals where they attached pictures of children engaged in various forms of sexually explicit conduct. The images included prepubescent girls performing sexual acts with adults. Some of the children depicted were of toddler age. There were 547 images of child pornography on the computer’s hard drive.

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 12,000 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 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

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. 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.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.