An Augusta man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for enticing a child to produce sexually explicit images.
Tibius Edwards, 26, pleaded guilty to the production of child pornography, said Jill Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall sentenced Edwards to 180 months in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release, and to register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to a news release, FBI agents interviewed Edwards in 2019 after a child’s mother provided a cell phone to investigators. Images on the phone led them to Edwards, who had “persuaded the minor to produce and provide sexually explicit images and share them with Edwards via an online messaging application.”
Edwards was named in a seven-count January federal indictment. It accused him of in 2019 coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography and sending obscene material to a child under age 16.
“There is an epidemic in this country of adult predators contacting and befriending children online and persuading them to produce sexually explicit images of themselves,” Steinberg said. “The vigilance of a caring adult rescued the victim from further harm, and this sentence ensures Tibius Edwards will no longer be a danger to the community.”
“The defendant’s heinous behavior is deserving of a lengthy prison sentence to ensure he cannot inflict further harm on other victims,” said Justin Garrick, Acting Supervisory Senior Resident Agent in FBI Atlanta’s Augusta office. “This case shows how important it is that we continue to target and prosecute sexual predators who victimize children.”
Edwards’ LinkedIn profile said he had been an Army IT technician who worked for Unisys.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division,and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Jason W. Blanchard.
Anyone with information about suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678 or go to report.cybertip.org.
