Man Sentenced to Prison for Producing Child Pornography

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Hamilton man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for producing child pornography.

“The nature and vile actions of McCauley are nothing short of despicable and among the most serious crimes contemplated by the federal criminal code,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The production of child pornography is heinous and causes incalculable and unknowable harm to victims. I want to thank our local, state and federal law enforcement partners for their tremendous work on this case and for protecting our most vulnerable victims from horrendous criminals like McCauley.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in 2016 and 2017, Logan Roy McCauley, 25, repeatedly went online and engaged in sexualized conversations with individuals who identified themselves as minors. Then, in November 2017, after meeting a 13-year-old online, McCauley drove to the minor’s residence in West Virginia, picked up the minor, and drove the minor back to his residence in Hamilton. Within hours of arriving, McCauley engaged in sexual intercourse with the minor for purposes of using a smartphone to record a portion of the sexual abuse. Soon after creating the video, McCauley sent an online message to another person admitting he had made the video that morning. The day after McCauley created the video, law enforcement went to McCauley’s residence in search of the minor. Both McCauley and the minor were present, and McCauley told law enforcement about the video, which was still on McCauley’s smartphone.

“This sentence is a result of the hard work of dedicated law enforcement personnel who work to safeguard children against these atrocious acts and people," said Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division. “On behalf of the FBI, I would like to thank our law enforcement partners across multiple states who assisted in the safe recovery of the minor victim.”

This matter was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which is composed of FBI agents, along with detectives from the Fairfax County Police, Arlington County Police,  Prince William County Police, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Leesburg Police, Alexandria City Police, Washington Metropolitan Police, Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, George Mason University Police, United States Marshal’s Service, and agents of various Office of Inspector Generals. This matter was brought to the task force as a result of interagency cooperation between West Virginian local authorities and FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office in an attempt to locate the victim who was reported missing.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Brian A. Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Division, FBI Washington Field Office, and Michael L. Chapman, Loudoun County Sheriff, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander P. Berrang and Jay V. Prabhu, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendelynn E. Bills prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-330.