RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. — A Randolph County man was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for receiving child pornography after having been convicted of a child pornography offense.
According to a release from the US Department of Justice, Michael Scott Kivett, 41, was previously convicted in Guilford County of multiple counts of second-degree exploitation of a minor in 2001 and again in 2009. As a result, he was required to register as a sex offender.
The release states that in September 2019, Google made a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline that child pornography images were uploaded to a Google Photos account. The images included children engaged in sex acts.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) received the tip and directed it to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators determined the Google account belonged to Kivett, and in November 2019, they seized his phone. On the phone, investigators found more than 100 photos and more than 100 videos of child pornography.
Officials said Kivett admitted to viewing and downloading child porn using a foreign cloud-based instant messaging app that allows encrypted "secret" chatting. Kivett was arrested and detained on state charges.
He pleaded guilty to receiving child porn as a convicted sex offender in February 2020. In October 2021, he received a 15-year prison sentence.
“Increased use of and access to the Internet during the pandemic has led to more opportunities for offenders to come into contact with teenagers and children. We greatly appreciate our partnerships with agencies advocating for increased public awareness and those who have contacted law enforcement with tips that make the Internet a safer place for children,” said Randolph County Sheriff Greg Seabolt.
NCMEC’s CyberTipline is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. The public and electronic service providers can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual molestation, child sexual abuse material, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet.