A man has been sentenced to two decades in prison in a federal child pornography case. 24-year-old Cody Allen Wright of Mooresville was sentenced Friday (February 17) to 240 months (20 years) in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material that involved a prepubescent minor.

The announcement was made by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, Wright was ordered to serve a lifetime under court supervision and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison. Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell was among those who joined U.S. Attorney King in making the announcement.

According to filed court documents and Friday’s court hearing, between December 2019 and June 2020, Wright knowingly possessed and accessed images and videos that contained child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Court records show that the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation after receiving multiple cybertips that an individual later identified as Wright was using a Dropbox account to upload and store CSAM.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement conducted a search warrant at Wright’s residence from which they seized two cellular phones, a laptop and other electronic devices. A forensic analysis of the devices revealed that Wright possessed more than 1,500 files that contained images and videos of children, some younger than 12, being sexually abused.

In addition to finding child sexual abuse material, law enforcement also determined that Wright was using messaging apps like Kik and Discord to chat about and trade CSAM with other individuals. In one instance, Wright engaged in a chat during which he advised another app user on how to access CSAM on the dark web.

On September 26, 2022, Wright pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography that involved a prepubescent minor who had not yet attained 12 years of age. According to court records, while the federal investigation was ongoing, Wright was arrested by local law enforcement and was convicted in state court of engaging in sexual contact with a minor he met online. As a result of the state conviction, Wright was sentenced to 155 months in prison. Judge Bell ordered 150 months of Wright’s federal prison term to be served consecutive to the state sentence.