Security News: Beaufort County Man Sentenced to 30 years for Production of Child Pornography

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA — David James Allison, 33, of Bluffton, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for production of child pornography.

Evidence presented to the Court showed that on January 4, 2020, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call regarding the alleged sexual assault of a 22-month-old by David James Allison.  Allison admitted to assaulting the victim approximately five times between September 2019 and December 2019, and live streaming these assaults over Skype. 

Investigators determined that Skype communications were tied to an IP address in Littlehampton, West Sussex, United Kingdom. Subsequent investigation by the Sussex Police identified Andrew McPherson-Young, 52, of West Sussex, United Kingdom, as a subject in this matter.  McPherson-Young admitted to Sussex Police that he directed Allison on how to sexually assault the victim while McPherson-Young watched the assaults over Skype.  McPherson-Young is currently being prosecuted in the United Kingdom.

United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks sentenced Allison to 360 months in federal prison, to be followed by a lifetime term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Dean H. Secor prosecuted the case.

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

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