A 49-year-old man from Kanawha County has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, a crime that could land him in federal prison for up to 20 years.
Benson Cline II, of Cedar Grove, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on Thursday, May 2, 2024, to one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. The case was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Cline, a convicted sex offender, was found to have possessed 22 images and 134 videos of child sexual abuse material on his cell phone, which he accessed through his instant messaging app account between July 24, 2023, and November 6, 2023. The images and videos depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Cline is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He is a registered sex offender, as a result of his conviction for soliciting a minor via computer on February 24, 2011.
U.S. Attorney Will Thompson commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in bringing Cline to justice. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander A. Redmon is prosecuting the case in U.S. District Court.
The case highlights the ongoing threat of child sexual exploitation and abuse, which is a serious crime that affects thousands of children every year. Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat this growing epidemic. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Related Federal Cases
- John Leslie Hess Sentenced for Child Porn Possession · West Virginia
- Scott Allen Forloine II Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Possession · West Virginia
- West Virginia Sex Offender Benson Cline Guilty of Child Pornography · West Virginia
- Sex Offender Registry Check Operation Yields Results in Kanawha County · West Virginia
- Timothy A. Yeigh Charged in Sex Offender Registration Bust · West Virginia
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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