CHARLOTTE — A 27-year-old Charlotte man was sentenced Wednesday to 8 ½ years in federal prison after possessing what a judge described as some of the worst child sexual abuse material the court had ever seen, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Anthony Eliu Acevedo was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release, pay $62,000 in restitution along with $10,000 in special assessments and register as a sex offender for transporting child sexual abuse material.
U.S. District Judge Matthew E. Orso handed down the sentence after federal prosecutors detailed Acevedo’s possession of hundreds of violent images and videos depicting the abuse and torture of children.
In sentencing Acevedo, Orso stated that the defendant possessed “a very large collection of some of the worst materials this Court has ever seen.”
The investigation into Acevedo began in October 2023 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received information that an individual was uploading child sexual abuse material to an online storage account. Law enforcement later identified that individual as Acevedo.
Federal agents executed a search warrant at Acevedo’s Charlotte residence in February 2024, seizing a laptop and two cellphones. A forensic analysis of the seized electronics and Acevedo’s online storage account revealed more than 426 images and 999 videos of child sexual abuse material.
According to Ferguson, the recovered video material totaled more than 65 hours of footage.
“Acevedo had more than 65 hours of videos depicting the abuse of children, from sadistic and masochistic conduct to the physical and sexual torture of an infant,” Ferguson said. “That material should not even exist. Those who spread it will find their way to federal prison.”
Investigators also determined that Acevedo used the messaging application Telegram to obtain and pay for the illicit material. During an interview with law enforcement, Acevedo stated that he intended to sell the material to others, though investigators found no evidence that any sales had occurred.
Acevedo remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he is transferred to a designated Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to serve his sentence.
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
