Apex resident Andrew Eric Childs, a former Durham County EMS worker, has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after admitting to distributing child pornography and producing a video that showed sexual abuse of an animal. He will also be required to pay $24,800 in restitution and will be under supervised release for 10 years after he leaves prison. Federal prosecutors told the court the crimes were tied to Childs' personal conduct and not to his county EMS job.
According to CBS17, Childs pleaded guilty on April 7 to distributing child pornography and to producing the animal-cruelty video. At Friday's hearing, a federal judge handed down the 18-year prison term, along with the restitution order and the decade of supervised release that will follow his incarceration.
Background and county employment
As reported by WRAL, Childs had been the subject of multiple local investigations and faced dozens of state charges dating back to 2025. WRAL's reporting states he was hired by Durham County EMS in 2009 and was fired by the county in June 2025 after a series of arrests tied to similar allegations.
What prosecutors described in court
Federal prosecutors told the court that digital evidence in the case included files of child sexual abuse material and a video showing Childs sexually abusing a dog, which formed part of the federal case, per CBS17. Prosecutors argued the combination of offenses, exploitation of children and the production of an animal-cruelty video, justified a lengthy federal sentence.
Next steps and legal notes
The prosecution was handled by federal authorities in the Eastern District, and Friday’s sentence resolves the federal criminal case brought in connection with evidence seized during the investigation. Court papers filed in the matter and local reporting do not list any pending appeal, and any administrative or civil consequences tied to Childs' prior employment would proceed separately from the federal sentence.
