Federal agents say a trail of cyber tips led them straight to a registered sex offender in Westland, where investigators seized a phone they allege held disturbing images and videos of children, including infants.
Authorities identified the suspect as 35-year-old David Donnell White Jr. According to federal investigators, agents searched his home and a Samsung Galaxy phone, recovering photos along with a password-protected folder that allegedly contained images of minor girls. A full forensic review of the device is still underway as the case moves forward in federal court.
Investigators with FBI Detroit say the probe kicked off in January after multiple cyber tips landed at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. On January 9, agents served Comcast with a request for subscriber records and say the company responded with information tying the flagged IP address to an address on Cherry Hill Road in Westland. In February, federal agents searched White’s home and phone and performed a preliminary on-site review that described images and a locked photo folder; that quick review did not immediately identify files that clearly met the federal definition of child sexually abusive material, according to the complaint.
The complaint also states that White allegedly confirmed the phone and associated number were his but ended his interview when agents asked for the device password. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in federal court in Detroit on May 5, as reported by ClickOnDetroit.
How tips reach investigators
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children runs the CyberTipline, a national clearinghouse that collects reports from the public and from electronic service providers, then routes potential leads to law enforcement agencies for follow up. One tip can set off an entire chain of events: preservation orders to internet companies, subscriber lookups and, as in this case, a full-blown federal investigation that can end with agents at a suspect’s front door.
Federal prosecutors and the FBI have increasingly teamed up on child exploitation cases under initiatives such as Project Safe Childhood and recent FBI operations in Michigan. Those efforts highlight how online reporting tools feed directly into real-world enforcement. For more on how the system works, see the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and a Department of Justice release on related enforcement work in the region.
White's record and next court date
According to the criminal complaint cited in reporting, White pleaded to multiple convictions involving child sexually abusive material in Genesee County in 2018 and received a sentence of five years of probation. Court records indicate he was discharged from that probation in August 2023.
Public registry information pulled from state records lists a Westland address tied to White’s registration, and aggregator records identify that address as 33909 Cherry Hill Rd, Westland. He is due back in federal court for a preliminary hearing on May 5 while the forensic review of the seized device continues.
Legal implications
Transporting, receiving or distributing child sexual abuse material is a federal offense with serious consequences. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2252 and related statutes, certain charges carry mandatory minimum prison terms, and the law allows for enhanced penalties when images are particularly violent or when a defendant has prior related convictions.
Guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Code outlines those sentencing ranges in detail. As with all federal cases at this stage, the current criminal complaint represents allegations only, and White is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.
