Federal Jury Finds Parkersburg Man Guilty of Child Pornography Crimes and Witness Tampering

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –  United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced today that Daniel Roy Mace, of Parkersburg, was convicted by a federal jury on 15 felony charges:  12 counts of receipt of child pornography on dates between June 24 and August 3, 2016; one count of distribution of child pornography; one count possession of child pornography depicting prepubescent minors; and one count of witness tampering.  When he is sentenced on July 8, 2019, he will face up to 20 years on each count, along with at least five years for each of the 12 receipt counts and the distribution count. He will also be placed on supervised release for a term of at least five years and up to life following his release from prison, and will be required to register as a sex offender.

“Guilty on all 15 counts,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “These are emotional and difficult cases, especially considering the graphic nature of the evidence and that the conduct involves children.  These cases are critically important – for the victims, for the community and our society.  The timing of this case couldn’t be more apt.  April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and just yesterday, we rolled out the remarkable results over the last six months of multiple investigations regarding child exploitation.  I applaud the efforts of Assistant United States Attorneys Jenny Herrald and Alex Hamner, and the entire team that worked on this case.  We are in the business of protecting children.”

On August 1, 2016, law enforcement with the WVSP Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began a proactive investigation into local distributors of child pornography. After identifying a potential target in the Parkersburg area, a detective downloaded eight videos of child pornography from a user located in Parkersburg over a peer-to-peer file sharing network. On August 4, 2016, a search warrant was executed at the residence from which the child pornography was being shared. Law enforcement discovered Mace’s laptop in his bedroom, actively downloading child pornography from the same file-sharing services where law enforcement had downloaded the eight videos of child pornography. Upon examining Mace’s computer, law enforcement discovered 80 videos of child pornography depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Among the 80 videos were all eight  videos of child pornography that law enforcement had downloaded.

After Mace was arrested on a federal indictment charging him with numerous child pornography offenses, Mace began attempting to persuade a witness to provide a false alibi for him during testimony before a federal grand jury in January 2019.  The jail calls between Mace and the witness were recorded.

The West Virginia State Police, the Parkersburg Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Violent Crime Against Children (VCAC) Task Force conducted the investigation.  Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the trial.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Rada Herrald and Alex Hamner handled the prosecution.