Murphy Woman: 18 Years For Production Of Child Pornography

Asheville -- March 2024: Western District of North Carolina United States Attorney's Office:

Alyssa Danielle Seabolt, 26, of Murphy, N.C., was sentenced today to 18 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger also ordered Seabolt to register as a sex offender after she is released from prison.

Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today's announcement. 

According to court documents and court proceedings, in 2021, Canadian law enforcement investigating the online trading of child pornography notified HSI about an individual in the United States, later identified as Seabolt, using Snapchat to distribute files depicting the sexual abuse of children. In June 2022, during an interview with HSI agents, Seabolt admitted to producing the child pornography she had shared online.

On April 19, 2022, Seabolt pleaded guilty to using a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct.

U.S. Attorney King commended HSI for their investigation that led to today’s sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Solheim with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.