Chunchula Man Sentenced To 96 Months

MOBILE, AL – Christopher Benedum was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for Distribution of Child Pornography. 

According to court documents, Benedum, 47, was using the social media application Discord to trade videos and images of child pornography with other users. Many of the images depicted children younger than ten years old. Some of the children were identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

Benedum was indicted by a federal grand jury in December of 2025 as a part of “Operation Relentless Justice,” a nationwide Department of Justice initiative, focused on identifying and arresting child predators. 

After his period of incarceration, Benedum will be placed on a term of supervised release for fifteen years.  He will be required to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay restitution to the victims identified. 

U.S. Attorney Sean Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Invesetigation and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tandice Blackwood prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources