Joshua Andrew Phillips, Child Pornography Production, North Carolina 2022

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Grimy Times Exclusive

A Yancey County man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today.

Joshua Andrew Phillips, 33, of Burnsville, N.C., pleaded guilty on May 20, 2022, to production of child pornography. According to court documents, the Yancey County Sheriff's Office received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in February 2020 that an individual was sharing child pornography on social media.

Law enforcement identified Phillips as the person behind the disturbing content and retrieved his cellular phones and computer. An HSI Computer Forensic Analyst conducted a forensic review of Phillips's devices and located the child pornography images of the minors he had produced. In addition, law enforcement discovered over 8,400 images and videos depicting children being sexually abused on the defendant's devices.

Phillips is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Upon his release from prison, he will be subject to a lifetime of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney King commended HSI and the Yancey County Sheriff's Office for their joint investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Solheim prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating the online sexual exploitation of children. By combining resources, federal, state, and local agencies are better able to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue those victims.

Phillips's 20-year sentence serves as a warning to those who engage in the heinous crime of child pornography production. The production, distribution, and possession of child pornography are serious federal crimes that carry significant penalties.

The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and provide updates on the defendant's status. In the meantime, our thoughts are with the victims and their families who have been affected by this horrific crime.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/yancey-co-man-sentenced-20-years-producing-child-pornography