Press Release:
On January 25, 2024, Timothy Carver, 54, of Jonesborough, Tennessee, was sentenced to over 30 years in prison by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.
Carver was convicted following a jury trial in April 2023 of knowingly producing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a); knowingly distributing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2)(A); and knowingly possessing child pornography involving a child less than 12 years of age, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).
Evidence presented at trial proved the defendant videoed and photographed himself engaged in sexual acts with a two-year-old. The proof further showed that he distributed a child pornography video to an FBI Online Covert Agent using a messaging application. FBI agents searched the defendant’s cellular phone and discovered 1,735 photo and video files containing child pornography.
Carver will serve 460 months in prison and will also be subject to lifetime supervision and placement on the sex offender registry.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton, III of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico, Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement.
The FBI, including agents from the Johnson City, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Field Offices, led the investigation that resulted in the indictment and subsequent conviction of Carver. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office also provided assistance in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Swecker and Thomas McCauley represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
