Elizabethton man sentenced for distribution of child pornography
Published 12:52 pm Tuesday, August 18, 2020
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Anthony Layton Moody, 27, of Elizabethton, was sentenced on August 14 by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.
Moody pleaded guilty to one count of an indictment charging him with distribution of child pornography. Moody was sentenced to 168 months in prison, followed by 20 years’ supervised release. Moody was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the victims. He will be required to register with the sex offender registry in any state in which he resides, works, or attends school, and comply with special sex offender conditions during the supervised release.
In November 2019 a federal search warrant was executed at Moody’s home after information was provided to the Carter County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about child pornography images and videos being downloaded at the residence. During the search, over 1,500 images of child pornography were found on Moody’s computer and cellular phone. Many of the images depicted the sexual victimization of infants and toddlers. During questioning, Moody admitted to possessing child pornography and stated that he had been downloading and viewing child pornography for some time. Moody also admitted to distributing and trading child pornography to hundreds of individuals over the course of a year. The criminal indictment resulted from investigation by the Carter County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. This investigation was led by HSI Special Agent Travis Carrier.
Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Parker represented the United States. 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 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 exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
