GA Couple Planned To Exploit Young Girl Through Child Porn: FBI

AUGUSTA, GA — A couple who admitted to producing and sharing child pornography during a plot to sexually exploit an 8-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Charles Brandon Powell, 33, of Hephzibah, Georgia and Carrie Marie Minton, 25, of Cordoba, South Carolina, pleaded guilty Monday, July 8, to one count of production of child pornography in U.S. District Court before Chief Judge J. Randall Hall, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years, followed by supervised release of five years to life. There is no parole in the federal system, a release from the Department of Justice said.

“The facts of this case are sickening and disturbing, revealing a cesspool of cooperative depravity,” Christine said. “Quick action from our federal and state law enforcement partners halted this scheme in the early stages, thankfully sparing further exploitation of two innocent children.”

According to court documents and testimony, Powell and Minton, identified as a couple, held online discussions to plan a sexual encounter with an 8-year-old girl whom Minton planned to bring to Powell’s Hephzibah home from Neeses, South Carolina. After Minton sent an explicit photo of another juvenile, a 5-month-old girl, to Powell, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted authorities, who intervened as the plot was in motion. Powell and Minton were taken into custody without either of the children subjected to further harm.

“This case is an excellent example of how partnerships between the FBI and our state and local law enforcement agencies are essential in protecting our citizens and in particular, children, our most vulnerable citizens,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta FBI. “Keeping our children safe is a top priority for this office and I thank law enforcement for their quick work on this matter.”

After accepting pleads from Powell and Minton, Hall remanded them to federal custody until a sentencing hearing is held. Both are in custody in the Jefferson County Jail.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the South Carolina Office of the Attorney General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Lyons is prosecuting the case for the United States.

A second case of child porn from south Georgia also occurred this week.

Ricardo Dale Alva, 64, of Appling, Georgia, entered a guilty plea Monday, July 8, in U.S. District Court in Augusta to one count of Possession of Child Pornography, Christine said.

The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, followed by no less than five years of supervised release. A sentencing hearing will be held at a later date.

Alva was arrested March 7 after Richmond County Sheriff’s Office deputies were alerted by an online tip that led to a search of Alva’s Appling home by the FBI. The search discovered a cell phone containing images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

“Children exploited by pornography are victimized when their images are recorded, and again and again when those images are shared,” Christine said. “The successful resolution of this case leaves many other victimizers to pursue, and our office and investigative partners will never rest until we end this repulsive victimization of children.”

“Individuals who possess pornographic images of children for their own self-gratification support the further exploitation of the most innocent victims,” Hacker said. “The FBI will always make it a top priority to protect the most vulnerable in our society, our children,”

The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tara Lyons.