Hagatña – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announces that on September 12, 2024, Andrew Taylor Wood, age 26, from Stafford, Virginia, was sentenced to 71 months imprisonment in the U.S. District Court of Guam for Transportation of Child Sexual Abuse Material, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(1) and (b)(1). The Court also ordered ten years of supervised release, $86,500 in restitution to 12 victims, and $100 mandatory assessment fee.
As a convicted sex offender, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Taylor must register in every jurisdiction he resides, works, and goes to school.
From at least 2016 until 2022, Andrew Taylor Wood possessed, distributed, and transported images and videos depicting prepubescent minors and material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. Wood created Dropbox accounts for the purpose of uploading, storing, and distributing this material and shared links in online forums for the purpose of trading for access to additional material. Wood possessed numerous electronic devices used to store videos and images. He also transported these devices around the country as he changed duty stations with the U.S. Navy.
“I applaud the work of HSI and NCIS in bringing Wood to justice,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “This case reveals how CSAM is spread through electronic means. Children remain victimized for life. We will continue to prioritize exploitation cases to keep our communities safe.”
“Today’s sentencing underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society. The exploitation of children is a heinous crime, and HSI, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue justice for the victims, said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that those who engage in such reprehensible acts are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The case was prosecuted by Benjamin K. Petersburg, Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Guam.
This was a Project Safe Childhood (PSC) case, 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 CEOS, PSC 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 PSC, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
