North Charleston Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor Through Social Media Apps

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA — David Curtis White, 23, of North Charleston, was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of a minor.

According to Court documents, White’s activities were discovered in September 2020 when the mother of a then 11-year-old discovered the child had communicated with and created sexually explicit images at the request of another user on the instant messaging application Snapchat. Law enforcement investigators subsequently identified White as the offender.

Investigators searched White’s residence and digital devices and discovered that he had successfully persuaded and coerced the minor victim to produce sexually explicit material. White, who purported to be a minor, initially communicated with the victim on the Omegle online chat website and then exchanged Snapchat usernames with the victim. Investigators also discovered hundreds of child pornography images and videos on White’s electronic devices that he had collected from the internet.

United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced White to 120 months imprisonment, to be followed by a lifeterm of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean H. Secor prosecuted the case.

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

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