HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marlon Leftwich, 46, of Huntington, pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about January 1, 2016, Leftwich persuaded a 5-year-old minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him at his Huntington residence while he recorded the conduct using a cell phone. Leftwich then transferred the video file to a memory card.

Leftwich is scheduled to be sentenced on October 5, 2026, and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Leftwich must also register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Price is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-132.

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