A 36 year-old Wayne County man will spend the next 15 years of his life in federal prison after being sentenced Wednesday in a federal courtroom in New Bern.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced Steven C. Davidson, 36, of Pikeville was sentenced to 180 months imprisonment followed by a lifetime of supervised release by United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. In January, Davidson had pled guilty to one count of the receipt of child pornography.
Davidson was a former member of the United States Air Force assigned as an Air Traffic Controller at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base at the time of his offense.
On November 5, 2014, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (SJAFB) in Goldsboro launched an investigation after a government computer was utilized to conduct online searches for material related to child exploitation and child pornography. The suspect was subsequently identified as Davidson who was a Staff Sergeant.
On November 19, 2014, agents seized four government computers that Davidson had accessed within the past year. On the same date, agents conducted a search of the defendant’s residence and seized a computer. Based on the investigation authorities said he used a computer to receive, trade, and store child pornography. Forensic examination uncovered at least 720 images and 30 videos depicting child pornography.
The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes is handling the prosecution on behalf of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.
