Man who sent videos of adults sexually abusing infants to FBI agent sentenced to 19 years

A man from Fayetteville, North Carolina, was sentenced to 235 months in prison recently, having pled guilty to the production of child pornography after being caught in an undercover FBI sting.

Court documents show that the man sent videos of the sexual abuse of infants to an undercover FBI agent and was in possession of child pornography, including videos in which he engaged in sexual chats with underage girls.

According to the Department of Justice, David Leon Autry III communicated with an FBI agent operating out of Albany, New York, over the instant messaging application Kik.

The FBI agent joined a group on the app, known to be frequented by those who are sexually interested in children, and made a fictitious post about having a 9-year-old daughter.

Autry subsequently sent the message "Any pics vids" to the undercover agent, before explaining that he prefers children in the age range of 6-13 and that he watches a large volume of child pornography.

The illegal pornography trader also sent the law enforcement agent a series of videos that included adult males sexually abusing infants. Then, Autry even sent the agent a photograph of himself, along with an email address and social media information at the agent's request.

Using this information, the FBI was able to identify Autry through administrative subpoenas.

In March 2020, FBI agents approached Autry at his workplace to execute a warrant on his cellphone. The man denied having his phone on him, but after requesting to use the bathroom, Autry's phone was spotted by agents in his back pocket as he walked away. A struggle ensued with Autry trying to wrestle his phone away from the agents. He was taken to the ground and handcuffed, and the agents took his phone.

Upon analysis, over 100 files of sexual abuse against children were found, including 45 unique videos. Autry created "numerous" files himself, taking screenshots of his own activity on a video chat application. The screenshots included Autry having video chats with girls who are allegedly as young as 11 years old and engaging in sexual activity.

The Kik app has led to many arrests related to child grooming, child pornography, and other illegal activities. As early as 2017, Forbes reported extreme issues with child exploitation on the app, which has a user base consisting of "15 million monthly active users," with 57% in the 13-24 age bracket.

Blaze Media has reported on several different child-exploitation crimes involving the Kik messenger app, including those allegedly committed by an ABC News producer and an Ohio high school teacher.

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