Yesterday, a Virginia man, Rafferty Daniel Kelly, was found guilty by a district court judge for child pornography-related offenses. Kelly, aged 40 and an employee at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, was convicted of possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The investigation into Kelly began in March 2022. It involved the use of an internet-based peer-to-peer file-sharing service, which led federal agents to search his home. They discovered over 50,000 images of CSAM and child erotica on his devices, spanning at least two years. These included images of infants and prepubescent children. Kelly also possessed a handbook on grooming children.
Presiding over the bench trial, Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff found Kelly guilty on one count each of receipt and possession of child pornography. Kelly is set for sentencing on July 24 and faces a minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison. Judge Nachmanoff will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors when determining the sentence.
The announcement was made by Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Erik S. Siebert, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Sean Ryan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division. Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Strobbe for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force led the investigation. The task force includes FBI agents and other federal and local detectives, tasked with addressing child exploitation and human trafficking.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to prosecute individuals exploiting children online and to rescue victims. For more details, visit the website at www.justice.gov/psc.