Buchanan County Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge
ABINGDON, Va.- – A Whitewood, Virginia man pleaded guilty today to distributing child pornography using a means or facility of interstate commerce.
According to court documents, Jordan Seth Gross, 21, distributed child pornography to an undercover employee with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in November 2020. Gross admitted today to using the KIK computer messenger application to communicate with others in a known child pornography chatroom. Gross accessed his KIK account from both his home in Whitewood, in Buchanan County, Virginia, and his place of employment at Buchanan General Hospital in Grundy, Virginia. Using that account, Gross distributed multiple videos of prepubescent females under the age of twelve engaged in sexually explicit conduct to an FBI employee working undercover in the chatroom. Gross admitted he had been distributing child pornography since he was fourteen years old.
“When individuals distribute images and videos of the sexual abuse of children on the internet, they continue these horrific crimes in perpetuity,” U.S. Attorney Bubar stated today. “I’m thankful for the good work of the FBI and Virginia State Police in this case, which ought to send the strong message to anyone tempted to exploit our children for their own abhorrent desires—we will find you and bring you to justice.”
“The innocence of young children should be nurtured, not tarnished via sexually explicit behavior, and then marketed through websites for the entertainment of predators,” Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division said today. “Our investigators work tirelessly to identify these criminals and hold them accountable, but also to identify and provide helpful resources to these victims and their families. We are grateful for the partnership of the Virginia State Police and the United States Attorney’s Office’s for the Western District in this case.”
Gross pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly distributing one or more visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct that has been mailed or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 5, 2021 and faces a sentence of between 84-120 months imprisonment, followed by a period of supervised release.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Virginia State Police are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lena Busscher is prosecuting the case.
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Western District of Virginia
Public Release