Roanoke Man Sentenced for Possessing Child Sexual Exploitation Material

ROANOKE, Va. - A Roanoke, Va. man, who used the Kik social media app to send three videos containing child sexual exploitation material to an undercover FBI officer, was sentenced yesterday to 40 months in federal prison.

Christopher Allan Johnson, 55, pled guilty in December 2025 to one count of possessing child sexual exploitation materials involving a prepubescent minor.

"The threat from online predators is real and remains a key enforcement priority for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia and our law enforcement partners," Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today. "I am thankful to the FBI for their diligent work in this case to identify a real threat and bring justice to help protect our children."

"Today's sentencing takes one more criminal offline, but we know this epidemic of child exploitation is far from over. The FBI will continue fighting every day to protect our children from predators like Mr. Johnson," said Ian Kaufmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Richmond Division.

According to court documents, on October 10, 2024, after leaving the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem, Virginia, Johnson logged into Kik and joined a public group dedicated to incest. There, an undercover FBI task force officer messaged Johnson. During the conversation, Johnson talked about his sexual fantasies involving children.

The next day, without prompting, Johnson sent the undercover officer three videos depicting children being graphically sexually exploited. At least one of the videos involved a prepubescent minor.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew Inman is prosecuting the case for the United States.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/Links 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..