DURHAM, N.C. — A man who pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison, announced Matthew G.T. Martin, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Brian Robert Ackerman, 39, of Durham pleaded guilty on December 13, 2019, to one count of transportation of child pornography. He was sentenced to 96 months of imprisonment followed by 15 years of supervised release, officials said.
Ackerman first came to law enforcement’s attention following a report to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and an illicit chat conversation with an undercover FBI agent. During the conversation, Ackerman condoned and encouraged the undercover FBI agent to sexually abuse his purported 9-year-old daughter.
Additionally, Ackerman sent child pornography to at least three individuals: an Orange County woman, the undercover FBI agent, and a person claiming to be a 16-year-old girl. The files depicted the sexual abuse of children and at least one toddler, officials said.
At the time of his arrest, investigators found him in possession of 41 images and 49 videos depicting child pornography. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Task Force and the Durham Police Department with assistance from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
All are members of the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric L. Iverson and Whitney N. Shaffer.
