HSI-led investigation lands West Virginia man in prison for child pornography

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Charleston landed a 55-year-old Logan-area man in prison for child pornography. Raymond Dugan was sentenced on Oct. 27, to four years and six months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for accessing with the intent to view prepubescent child pornography. Dugan must also register as a sex offender. A federal jury found Dugan guilty following a one-day trial.

According to the HSI Charleston investigation and evidence presented at Dugan’s trial, on June 11, 2020, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at Dugan’s residence. They obtained the search warrant for Dugan’s residence after tracing an Internet Protocol (IP) address that had been used to access a website on the dark web known to share child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

Law enforcement officials seized several electronic devices during the search, including a laptop computer. An analysis of the computer conducted by local law enforcement revealed 1,237 images of child pornography on the laptop. Some of the images depicted prepubescent minors subjected to sadistic and masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.

The investigation was led by HSI Charleston with significant assistance from local law enforcement.

“There can be no tolerance under the law for anyone who exploits or preys upon children,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson. “I commend the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory Digital Forensics Unit (DFU). I also commend Assistant United States Attorneys Julie White and Nowles Heinrich and the trial team for the successful prosecution of this case.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.