Fort Wainwright Soldier sentenced to 32 years in sadistic child pornography case

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A Fort Wainwright soldier was sentenced today to 32 years in prison for possessing thousands of images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and for producing CSAM.

According to court documents, on Sept. 11, 2024, the Fort Eustis Resident Unit of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (Army CID) received a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) cybertip reporting that five images of alleged CSAM were uploaded to the online platform, Discord. Fort Eustis Army CID reviewed the images and determined they depicted CSAM of prepubescent female children.

A subsequent investigation resulted in law enforcement executing search warrants in October 2024 for the residence of David Andres Mayoral, 21, his electronic devices and his Discord account.

A review and forensic examination of Mayoral's account and electronic devices revealed over 2,500 images and over 680 videos of CSAM, and an additional 1,000 computer generated/artificial intelligence images depicting CSAM. Some images depicted the violent rape of children.

Court documents detail conversations Mayoral had with numerous adults and minors across several social media platforms where he discussed distribution and receipt of CSAM, rape, descriptions of sexual acts, violence and other sadistic behavior, including encouraging self-mutilation and attempting to obtain location information for victims so he could "kidnap" them. Mayoral also admitted to sexually abusing a nine-year-old victim.

Mayoral was arrested on Fort Wainwright on March 13, 2025, and a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with three counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography on March 20, 2025. Mayoral pleaded guilty to all four charges on Aug. 15, 2025.

Mayoral is required to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his custodial sentence. In handing down the sentence, the Court emphasized the need to protect children from the defendant's unrelenting abuse.

"Mr. Mayoral hid behind the perceived anonymity of the internet and exploited children for his own sick desires," said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. "He was unable to hide from the dedicated law enforcement that ultimately uncovered his perversions. He will now spend over three decades behind bars."

"Mayoral's predatory crimes against children, both online and offline, were depraved and an affront to our society," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Brandon Waddle of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. "Protecting our children is one of the highest callings in law enforcement. I commend the outstanding work by members of the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in their commitment to holding child predators accountable and seeking justice for victims."

"Mayoral betrayed the Army's core values by preying upon and exploiting our most precious and vulnerable," said Special Agent in Charge Michele Starostka, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Western Field Office. "This sentencing is a result of Army CID's relentless commitment to protecting our communities from child predators."

FBI Anchorage Field Office and Army CID investigated the case as part of the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Vosacek prosecuted 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 Justice.gov/PSC.

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