Candler Man Sentenced to 10+ Years In Prison For Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material Using Peer-To-Peer Network

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - A Candler, N.C., man was sentenced to prison yesterday for distributing thousands of files containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) via a peer-to-peer network, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Jake Ben Paul Lohr, 48, was sentenced to 126 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Upon release from custody, Lohr will be required to register with the Sex Offender Registry Board in any state or jurisdiction where he works or resides.

"Each time an image depicting the sexual abuse of a child is shared, that child is revictimized all over again," said U.S. Attorney Ferguson. "For those who continue to distribute thousands of files like Lohr, we have no choice but to remove them from the community to stop them from causing further harm to victims who have already suffered too much."

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, detectives were conducting an online investigation on the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network for offenders sharing CSAM. Peer-to-peer, or P2P, is a type of decentralized network where computers can connect directly and share files. Between December 2023 and January 2024, law enforcement successfully completed three downloads of files containing thousands of images and videos containing CSAM, that Lohr was making available for others to download.

On February 28, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the defendant's residence. Multiple electronic devices were seized and forensically analyzed. The forensic analysis revealed that Lohr possessed the equivalent of 571,950 images depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as infants. Some of the CSAM material maintained and distributed also portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.

Lohr remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today's announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked HSI, the Waynesville Police Department, and the Boone Police Department for their investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Benjamin of 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 Justice Department. 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.