A 27-year-old Charlotte man has been sentenced to eight and a half years in federal prison after investigators found more than 426 images and 999 videos of child sexual abuse material on his devices and in his online storage account, including footage depicting the physical and sexual torture of an infant. Anthony Eliu Acevedo was sentenced Wednesday for transportation of child sexual abuse material and will serve supervised release for the rest of his life.
According to Queen City News, U.S. District Judge Matthew E. Orso said Acevedo had amassed a very large collection of some of the worst materials the court had ever seen. The 999 seized videos recovered from Acevedo's devices and cloud storage would run for 65.5 hours if played continuously.
Acevedo was also ordered to pay $62,000 in restitution and $10,000 in special assessments, and he must register as a sex offender. He is currently held in U.S. Marshals Service custody at a neighboring county jail and will eventually be transferred to the federal Bureau of Prisons, per the same report.
How the Case Began
The investigation traces back to October 2023, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received information that a person later identified as Acevedo was uploading child sexual abuse material to an online storage account — including a video showing the physical and sexual torture of an infant. That tip fits a much larger pattern: NCMEC received over 36.2 million CyberTipline reports globally in 2023 and 20.5 million in 2024, according to MissingKids.org.
Law enforcement carried out a search warrant at Acevedo's home in February 2024, seizing two cell phones and a laptop, the DOJ statement notes. A forensic analyst subsequently uncovered the hundreds of images and videos, which included what prosecutors described as sadistic and masochistic actions committed against children. Acevedo told authorities he used Telegram to obtain and pay for the material and planned to sell it to others, though investigators found no evidence he had completed any such transactions.
Multi-Agency Investigation and Prosecution
The case was investigated jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes. Russ Ferguson said those who spread child sexual abuse material will find their way to federal prison, according to the same DOJ release.
The prosecution was carried out under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in 2006 that coordinates federal, state, and local law enforcement resources under U.S. Attorneys' Offices to combat technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation, per the Department of Justice. The initiative works to combat the sexual exploitation and abuse of children by integrating operations among the FBI, local police departments, and federal prosecutors.
Why Encrypted Apps Are Now Central to These Cases
RAINN lists dark-web marketplaces and encrypted messaging apps like Telegram among the channels used to distribute this material. Telegram updated its privacy policy in September 2024 to state it will disclose user IP addresses and phone numbers to law enforcement upon receipt of valid court orders naming users as criminal suspects, according to Spodek Law.
Nearly all CyberTipline reports came from online platforms, and 92 percent involved countries outside the U.S., according to research from Our Rescue. In Acevedo's case, NCMEC received a tip in October 2023, law enforcement searched his home in February 2024, and he was federally prosecuted.
What Comes Next for Acevedo
Under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A, transportation of child sexual abuse material carries a statutory maximum of up to 20 years in federal prison for a first offense, according to EveryCRSReport, meaning Acevedo's 8.5-year sentence falls well under the ceiling. His lifetime of supervised release will continue long after he completes his prison term. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The case follows other recent federal child exploitation sentencings in the Charlotte area. In a related case, 31-year-old Charlotte resident Terrell Shawn Anderson was sentenced in August 2026 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to using 13 Snapchat accounts to solicit explicit photos from roughly 45 minors, also prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood.
