A Huntsville man, David Edward Sanford, was sentenced to 190 months in prison for child pornography charges. The announcement came from U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples. Sanford, aged 55, will also serve a life term of supervised release following his imprisonment.
In December 2024, Sanford admitted guilt to charges of transporting and possessing child pornography. As part of his sentence, he must register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Court documents revealed that between September and November 2023, Sanford participated in online groups focused on the sexual exploitation of children. During a federal search at his residence in November 2023, Sanford confessed to using file-sharing applications to exchange videos and images of child pornography. He showed a particular interest in material involving children under the age of 11. Authorities seized over 9,600 videos and 500 images from his devices during this search.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Birmingham’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force with assistance from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Huntsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Leann White led the prosecution.
Authorities urge anyone who suspects or is aware of potential child sexual exploitation to contact law enforcement immediately. Reports can be made to the FBI Birmingham Office at 205-326-6166 or through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at www.cybertipline.org.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide.