Nicholas Wilds, Child Pornography, West Virginia 2024

Huntington Man Sentenced to 26 Years in Prison for Child Pornography Crime

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man was sentenced today to 26 years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for attempted production of child pornography. Nicholas Wilds, 38, must also register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Wilds admitted that he engaged in distributing child pornography using online chat rooms. Wilds messaged with a user of Kik, an online messaging application, and the two discussed sexually abusing young children. Wilds encouraged the other Kik user to take sexually explicit photographs of a child in the user’s care, providing graphic details with his requests. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant and found that Wilds possessed several hundred images of child pornography on his personal cell phone.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Julie White prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Nicholas Wilds, 38, was sentenced to 26 years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for attempted production of child pornography. Wilds must also register as a sex offender. The crime occurred in Huntington, West Virginia. The sentence was handed down on an unknown date in 2024.

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