MACON, Ga. – A central Georgia resident has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting to possessing hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), also known as child pornography, including those containing the showed obvious abuse of very young children.
David Health, 38, of Macon and Gray, Georgia, was sentenced Nov. 8 by Chief U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell to 240 months in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of possession of Heath must register as a sex offender for life after his release from prison. Heath is not eligible for parole.
“Heath and other predators who actively seek gratification through the horrific sexual abuse of children pose a danger to children,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “The Middle District of Georgia is blessed with law enforcement agencies that work tirelessly to protect the innocent and bring child abusers to justice.”
“The GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent victims of online exploitation. We are grateful for the partnerships we have with our local and state authorities to bring these predators to justice,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey.
According to court documents, on January 17, 2020, GBI received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that contained approximately 300 images of CSAM. The images, including some depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent minor children, were uploaded to a Google account used by Heath. Another cybertip containing 75 CSAM files depicting underage prepubescent children engaging in sexual acts was submitted on February 13, 2020 by the same account. In addition, 43 other cybertips like the above cases were found to come from the same user.
GBI executed a search warrant at Heath’s Macon residence on March 27, 2020 and seized several electronic devices, including laptops, cell phones, HD cards, USB flash drives and external hard drives. In total, Heath had 2,081 images of children being sexually assaulted and abused, including 116 images of an infant or toddler being sexually abused and one image of a child engaging in sadomasochistic behavior. Heath has a prior conviction for aggravated assault on a peace officer in Bibb County Superior Court, Georgia; His probation was revoked in 2020 for the felony counts of possession of methamphetamine and five counts of computer pornography and child exploitation.
The case was investigated by the GBI.
Detective Chief Leah McEwen led the case.
