Repeat Child Pornography Defendant Sentenced

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man was sentenced today to ten years in prison for possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, David Hooke, 48, previously was convicted in 2016 in Franklin (Virginia) Circuit Court for possession of child pornography. After serving a brief period in jail, Hooke moved into the Onesimus Transition Center (OTC), a residential facility in Chesapeake for men who have been released from prison. In March 2021, the FBI received information that a computer user at OTC was sharing images of child pornography. In September 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at OTC. Hooke, who was on state supervision at the time, admitted to sharing images of child pornography online, and an analysis of his computers revealed numerous images of child pornography.

During the execution of the search warrant, another OTC resident and convicted sex offender, Morris Guy Warren, was also found to be in possession of child pornography. Warren was sentenced in federal court to ten years’ imprisonment in December 2022.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kenneth A. Polite Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Mark G. Solesky, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi and Trial Attorney Adam Braskich of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-61.