Bethlehem Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography, Firearms Offense

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Earl Burford, 47, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John M. Gallagher to nine years in prison, six years of supervised release, and $3,000 in restitution, for child pornography and firearms offenses.

The defendant was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in September 2024, then charged by information in March of this year with distribution of child pornography and possession of a firearm by a felon. Burford pleaded guilty to both counts in May, waiving prosecution by indictment.

As detailed in court filings, in August 2024, the FBI learned that a user of the instant messaging application Kik, an account named "freakyfam69," was using the app to communicate regarding child pornography and child abuse, to include sending and receiving images depicting child pornography.

Investigators received information from Kik that "freakyfam69" used the email address "[email protected]" to register the Kik account.

When law enforcement obtained subscriber and IP login information for that email, it showed that "[email protected]" was subscribed to an Earl Burford, with the IP addresses used to access the email account matching the IP information provided by Kik for the user "freakyfam69."

Cellular phone records subsequently obtained by the FBI showed that the defendant was the subscriber of the IP addresses in question.

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 United States 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 projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia's Allentown Resident Agency and FBI Oklahoma City and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rosalynda M. Michetti.