Eddie Wayne Lane, Jr., Child Pornography, North Carolina 2014

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - A Burke County man was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for his role in a disturbing child pornography case.

Eddie Wayne Lane, Jr., 27, of Connelly Springs, N.C., pleaded guilty to one count of possession of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, one count of receiving such images, and one count of distributing them.

Lane was sentenced on April 24, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger, who also ordered him to register as a sex offender and serve the rest of his life under court supervision after he is released from prison.

The investigation into Lane's activities was handled by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI) and the Burke County Sheriff's Office, both of which are members of the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).

Lane's case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Lane is currently in local federal custody and will be transferred into the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina prosecuted the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Thorneloe and Cortney S. Randall handling the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/burke-co-man-sentenced-more-seven-years-prison-child-pornography-charges