Marion Man Convicted Child Predator Faces 16 Years in Prison

WNC --  Russ Ferguson, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced today that a child predator who had previously been found guilty has been sentenced to 192 months in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Additionally, Justin Matthew Adkins, 40, of Marion, North Carolina, was mandated to register as a sex offender upon his release from jail and serve a lifetime of supervised release.

 Records show that Adkins was found guilty of Second-Degree Exploitation of a Minor in Buncombe County and given a prison sentence.  Adkins was placed under post-release monitoring until 2028 after being released from state detention in April 2023. 

Officers from the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, McDowell County Sheriff's Office deputies, and U.S. Marshals Service deputy marshals searched Adkins' residence on November 7, 2023, as part of a probationary investigation. Law enforcement discovered that Adkins had CSAM while searching his electronic gadgets to make sure they met his post-release requirements.  Additionally, drugs and drug paraphernalia were seized by the police. 

According to court documents, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) computer forensic expert examined Adkins's electronic equipment and found thousands of CSAM photos and films showing the sexual assault of children who were not yet adolescent.  Adkins had disseminated CSAM to other people online, according to the researc  Adkins entered a guilty plea to the distribution of child pornography on December 18, 2024.  When a federal institution is designated, he will be moved from federal custody to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

 U.S. Attorney Ferguson praised the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, the U.S. Marshals Service, and HSI in Greenville for today’s news. The work done on the case was another example of a solid team effort, according to MCSO Sheriff Ricky T. Buchanan.
 
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexis Solheim of the Asheville U.S. Attorney's Office. This case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national effort by the Department of Justice that was started in May 2006 to address the rising prevalence of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  The Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorneys' Offices are in charge of Project Safe Childhood, which mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to better identify, capture, and prosecute those who exploit children online as well as to identify and rescue victims.

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