Connor Anthony Putillion, Child Pornography, West Virginia 2019

A disturbing case of child pornography has come to light in West Virginia, with a local man being sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his crimes.

Connor Anthony Putillion, 23, of Ripley, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for a child pornography crime, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Putillion previously entered his guilty plea in January 2019 to one count of attempted receipt of child pornography.

The investigation into Putillion's crimes was conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. 'These are horrendous crimes,' said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. 'Guys like Putillion that prey on innocent children need to be locked up.'

Putillion admitted to asking a 13-year-old minor to send him sexually explicit photographs via Snapchat, although the minor never complied with his repeated requests. He also admitted to driving the same 13-year-old minor from West Virginia to Virginia, where he groped her genital area over her clothing. Putillion had at least one other video of suspected child pornography on his cell phone.

Following his release from prison, Putillion will spend 25 years on federal supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Rada Herrald and Emily Wasserman handled the prosecution. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin handed down today’s sentence.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/jackson-county-man-sentenced-federal-prison-child-pornography-crime