Brunswick County man sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for child sex abuse material crimes

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Shallotte man was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release for receipt of child sexual abuse material.

That’s according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of North Carolina.

“These child predators hurt our children, causing lifelong damage to our communities. This case highlights the critical partnership between federal, state, and local agencies in protecting children,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “We will continue to work together to bring child sex offenders to justice and prevent further harm.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, the Department of Homeland Security and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office investigated Scott Anthony Lewis, 65.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a Cyber Tip from Dropbox, reporting that one of its users had uploaded child sexual abuse material to their platform.

Law enforcement traced the IP address from that DropBox account to Lewis.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Lewis’ residence, and seized digital devices being seized that contained child sexual abuse materials.

Lewis had previously served in the U.S. Navy but had left the service in 2018.

Since then, he had been working as a self-employed licensed electrician.

Lewis, a previously registered sex offender, was on supervised probation at the time of his arrest.

Officials said 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.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.