A federal jury in Elizabeth City, N.C., has convicted a Raleigh resident, Joseph Matthew Dobbs, aged 45, for possession of child sexual abuse material. The conviction follows evidence that Dobbs had more than 300 images of such material on his work laptop. Dobbs now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, with sentencing set for July.
Court documents and trial evidence revealed that Dobbs, while working remotely as an IT support engineer for a multinational technology firm, was detected by a supervisor viewing illegal content on his company-issued laptop in early November 2022. In response, the company terminated his employment and provided law enforcement with screenshots of the activities.
Subsequently, the Raleigh Police Department executed a search warrant at Dobbs's residence, seizing the laptop. A detailed examination of the laptop and corresponding back-up servers uncovered over 300 files featuring child sexual abuse material, including images involving infants, toddlers, and acts of bondage. The jury found Dobbs guilty, explicitly noting the involvement of prepubescent minors.
This conviction comes in addition to Dobbs's previous criminal record from 2006 in Virginia, where he was convicted of similar offenses, including carnal knowledge of a child, solicitation of a minor using a computer, possession and manufacturing of child sexual abuse material, resulting in a seven-year prison term. Dobbs was on probation for those offenses at the time of the current incident.
The case was announced by Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the jury's verdict. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Raleigh Police Department, with the prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lori Warlick and Logan Liles.
For more details, pertinent court documents can be accessed via the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina's website or through PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-182.