West Virginia man sentenced to 4 years in prison for possession of child pornography

BECKLEY, W. Va. — A West Virginia man was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for possession of child pornography. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The West Virginia State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the West Virginia State Police assisted in the investigation.

Alan L. Grimmett, 51, of Hinton, W.Va., had previously pleaded guilty to possessing on his computer more than 600 images and videos that revealed minors involved in sexual conduct.

"The criminal exploitation of our children is not a victimless crime," said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. "Individuals engaged in this type of criminal activity may think they can get away with it, but as today's sentencing demonstrates, they will not. HSI and our law enforcement partners in West Virginia will use every investigative tool in our arsenal to track you down and arrest you."

"Crimes that involve the exploitation of children are repulsive, plain and simple," said U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, Southern District of West Virginia. "These types of cases have been a top priority for my office and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the criminals are punished."

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 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, 1-800-843-5678.

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.