Source: United States Department of Justice News
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Mason County man pleaded guilty today to possession of prepubescent child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 11, 2020, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the residence of Joseph Curtis Hubman, 50, of Henderson. Officers recovered multiple external hard drives, mobile phones, two desktop computers and a micro SD memory card. A forensic analysis of the devices revealed more than 12,000 videos depicting child pornography. Hubman admitted that he possessed the child pornography, and that it included videos of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Hubman is scheduled to be sentenced on November 14, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Hubman must also register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Mason County Sheriff’s Department, and the West Virginia State Police.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Julie White is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-24.
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