San Francisco Resident Arrested For Possession Of Child Pornography

Defendant streamed child pornography in Zoom video chat room

SAN FRANCISCO – Chad Andrew Carter was arrested for possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King.

According to a criminal complaint filed on April 30, 2020, Carter, 44, of San Francisco, Calif., is alleged to have knowingly possessed child pornography. As detailed in the complaint, an individual using the handle “TopRod” was observed in a Zoom chat room displaying and streaming child pornography videos. Zoom is a video-conferencing and photo and video-sharing platform. The user “TopRod” was traced to an IP address and email account in defendant’s name. On January 4, 2018, HSI agents executed a search warrant on defendant’s residence and seized various electronic devices. In a review of those devices, agents identified approximately 3,077 image files and 469 video files containing child pornography, including images and videos of victims as young as three-to-five years old.

The complaint charges Carter with possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a)(4)(B).

Carter’s detention hearing occurred on May 7, 2020, before the Honorable Susan van Keulen, U.S. Magistrate Judge. Carter was released with conditions, including monitoring of his computer and electronics use and prohibiting contact with minors. Carter’s next appearance is scheduled for May 27, 2020, at 10:30 a.m.

Criminal complaints merely allege that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted on the possession of child pornography charge, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, five years to a life term supervised release, a fine of $250,000, a special assessment of $5,000, criminal forfeiture, and restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ward is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Margoth Turcios and Llessica Chan Fierro. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI.