Richmond Man Receives 6 Years Imprisonment for Distributing Child Pornography

RICHMOND, Va. – Stephen Troy Wood, 42, of Richmond, Virginia, was sentenced to 72 months imprisonment today in U.S. District Court for distributing child pornography.  Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ken Cuccinelli, Attorney General of Virginia; and Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations John P. Torres for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Washington office, made the announcement after Wood was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James R. Spencer.

Wood entered a plea of guilty on April 12, 2010, to one count of transportation of child pornography.  According to court documents, Wood was identified by law-enforcement officers during an investigation of individuals trading images of child sexual abuse over the Internet via email.  Agents tracked the location of some of the emails to the defendant’s residence in Richmond, Virginia.  On July 17, 2008, agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) encountered Wood at his residence.  The agents received consent to conduct a forensic examination of Wood’s computer.  During a voluntary interview Wood admitted that anything the agents found on the computer belonged to him.

On July 18, 2008, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) executed a federal search warrant at Wood’s residence.  During the execution of the warrant, Wood voluntarily admitted using his email accounts to trade images with others.  The subsequent forensic examination of the computer revealed more than 500 images depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct attached to emails in the computer’s “Mail You’ve Sent” and “Incoming/Saved Mail” folders.

The case was investigated by agents of ICE and the FBI.  Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth C. Wu and Special Assistant United States Attorney Tommy Johnstone of the Virginia Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.