A Washington state man was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to five years in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (USADC), 36-year-old James Davis of Joint Base Lewis-McChord pleaded guilty on Jan. 7, 2026, to distribution of child pornography.
On July 15, 2026, he was sentenced to five years in prison. In addition to the five-year prison sentence, he was ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release.
“Davis exploited online anonymity to engage in the abuse of children and to seek out other predators,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, who announced the sentencing. “When investigators closed in, he attempted to destroy evidence rather than take responsibility. This office will continue to track down offenders who believe they can hide behind digital shadows.”
The investigation began when a law enforcement officer, working undercover for the Metropolitan Police Department-FBI Child Exploitation Task Force, encountered Davis on a website used to trade child sexual abuse material.
Court documents show that Davis, using the online screen name “Ulphednar,” began exchanging messages with the undercover officer before continuing the conversation on a messaging application. During these exchanges, Davis stated he had sexually abused a minor over a period of years and sent images depicting the abuse. He also exchanged similar material with other users of the messaging application and discussed a shared sexual interest in children.
On April 11, 2025, the FBI executed a search warrant at Davis’s residence. As agents arrived, Davis attempted to destroy a cellphone that contained evidence of the offense. Davis later waived his Miranda rights and admitted to trading child sexual abuse material online.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation Task Force, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI’s Seattle Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Shinskie of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia prosecuted the matter.
This case was part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. The Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood in February 2006 as a nationwide effort designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The initiative, led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices, coordinates federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet and to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.