RONALD LESLIE PIERCE Jr., Child Pornography, North Carolina 2015

A Jacksonville man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in a child pornography scheme.

RONALD LESLIE PIERCE Jr., 53, was found guilty of possessing and receiving child pornography, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

The investigation, which began on November 6, 2013, was conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office after detectives identified PIERCE as a suspect who was sharing child pornography via an internet peer to peer file sharing network.

Detectives were able to download images of child pornography from PIERCE’s computer, and agents with the SBI subsequently searched his home in Jacksonville, revealing that he had downloaded thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

PIERCE pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on November 2, 2015, and to receipt of child pornography on November 9, 2015.

Senior United States District Judge James C. Fox sentenced PIERCE to 151 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release as part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carrie Randa, who represented the government in the matter.

Project Safe Childhood is a national program aimed at making sure those who exploit children are held accountable by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.

More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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