DOJ: Ex-DOE contractor sentenced to 10 years on child porn charges

The US Department of Justice announced Tuesday that a former Department of Energy contractor was sentenced to just over 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of possessing and distributing child pornography.

According to the DOJ release (which can be read below), 57-year-old David Bryon King pleaded guilty to charges of possession and distribution of child pornography in federal court in Knoxville on Tuesday and was sentenced to 121 months in prison by US District Judge Thomas Varlan.

The DOJ says that King admitted to possessing child pornography in both 2021 and 2022, and to distributing it in 2022. During the time of the offense, prosecutors say King had been working as a contractor, serving as a fire inspector at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

According to the DOJ, King was identified as having made online payments to individuals suspected of selling child pornography, which led to an interview at his home by agents with the DOE’s Office of Inspector General. During that interview, King reportedly admitted to having child pornography on his smartphone.  Agents seized the device and, after obtaining a federal search warrant to search it, a forensic analysis uncovered images and videos, as well as “other evidence linking King to the attempted distribution of child pornography.”

“Protecting children and holding perpetrators accountable is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III in the press release.

King’s decade behind bars will be followed by a lifetime on supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006, by the DOJ to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States in prosecuting the case.

The full DOJ release is below.

(US DOJ) On April 18, 2023, the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee, sentenced David Bryon King, age 57, to serve 121 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime on supervised release for attempted distribution and possessing child pornography.  During the time of the offense, King was a contractor working as a fire inspector for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

According to the filed plea agreement, King admitted that he distributed child pornography to others in 2022, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2522A(a)(2)(B), and possessed child pornography in 2021 and 2022, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).  King was identified as making online payments to individuals believed to be selling child pornography.  Agents with the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General interviewed King at his residence.  During the interview, King admitted to being in possession of child pornography, specifically on his smartphone.  Agents seized the device and obtained a federal search warrant to search the device.  Forensic analyses of King’s smartphone uncovered images and videos of child pornography and other evidence linking King to the attempted distribution of child pornography.

“Protecting children and holding perpetrators accountable is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III.

“I commend our agents and our partners at the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for investigating and prosecuting such heinous crimes against children,” said Teri L. Donaldson, Inspector General for the Department of Energy.  “Our investigators will continue doing everything they can to identify and investigate instances of child exploitation within the Department.  Crimes against children have absolutely no place anywhere, and we will continue working with the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country to investigate and prosecute the offenders.”

The case was investigated by the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.”