A Gulfport resident, Nicholas Snyder, was sentenced to 87 months in prison and twenty-five years of supervised release for possessing images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The sentencing took place following an investigation that began in 2020 when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Gulfport received information about Snyder’s activities.
In May 2020, HSI and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division, seized Snyder’s cellphone. A forensic examination revealed that he possessed multiple images of children involved in sexually explicit acts, including some victims under five years old.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Eric P. DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations announced the sentencing.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations along with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Smith and Andrea Jones 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.”
