CHARLOTTE, N.C. — David Lynn Browning, a Kentucky man, has been locked away for the rest of his life after being sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for operating an international child exploitation enterprise. The 47-year-old from Wooton, Kentucky, pleaded guilty on December 18, 2015, and has been under U.S. Marshals Service custody since his July 29, 2015, arrest.
Browning served as the global moderator of a sophisticated members-only website on the Tor anonymity network. The site was a haven for over 150,000 members who shared tens of thousands of posts detailing sexual abuse of children as young as infants and toddlers. His role involved managing membership, enforcing rules, and deleting content not related to child pornography. Browning logged hundreds of hours on the site, authoring more than 1,000 posts and designing its logo.
The investigation led by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section resulted in at least 51 hands-on abusers being prosecuted and 55 American children identified or rescued. Steven W. Chase, 57, of Naples, Florida, was convicted on September 16, 2016, and Michael Fluckiger, 46, of Portland, Indiana, was sentenced to prison for his involvement in the ring.
U.S. District Judge Richard L. Voorhees imposed Browning’s sentence, which also includes a lifetime term of supervised release. The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, the Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse online.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco; U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose; Special Agents John A. Strong and Amy Hess of the FBI; and Trial Attorneys Reginald E. Jones and Cortney Randall were instrumental in bringing this predator to justice.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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