Ampless Ray Lilly, a 52-year-old man from Huntington, West Virginia, has been sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release. Lilly was convicted for possession of child pornography and for violating probation.
Court records reveal that between February 20, 2023, and April 23, 2024, Lilly received approximately 2,900 images and 1,100 videos of child pornography on his mobile phone while connected to the internet. Lilly confessed that the materials depicted prepubescent minors in sexually explicit situations, as well as instances involving sadistic or violent conduct. Additionally, Lilly admitted to distributing these images and videos online.
Lilly, a registered sex offender, initially pled guilty to first-degree sexual assault on January 22, 1993, in Lincoln County Circuit Court. More recently, he was on probation after pleading guilty on August 14, 2023, to being a felon in possession of a firearm. His sentence includes two years and three months for committing a crime during his probation period.
The announcement came from Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, who praised the West Virginia State Police for their investigation. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers, with the case prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Price.
The prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice effort addressing child sexual exploitation. This initiative aims to deter and prosecute offenders while rescuing victims. More details about Project Safe Childhood can be found at justice.gov/psc. Further documents related to the case are available via PACER under Case Nos. 3:25-cr-15 and 3:23-cr-9.