2 Dayton men sentenced in federal child porn cases

Credit: Thomas Gnau

Credit: Thomas Gnau

Two Dayton men who received child pornography through the Kik messaging app were sentenced to prison this week in federal court.

David Dwayne Weaver, 40, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to 90 months in prison for possessing more than 1,000 images and more than 1,000 videos of child pornography, according to a release from United States Attorney David M. DeVillers of the Southern District of Ohio.

Zachary Marra, 33, was sentenced Monday to 60 months in prison for possessing 223 videos and 213 still images of child pornography on his phone, the DOJ stated.

FBI agents began investigating Weaver after receiving information that the subject of a child pornography investigation in Florida had traded files with Weaver through text messages. There also were multiple tips regarding Weaver’s use of various Google accounts to store and trade child pornography files. Weaver also used Kik messenger, Telegram messenger and email to communicate with others about the sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, and used the Tumblr social media site to meet a number of his child pornography trading partners. Court documents stated that Weaver’s collection included toddler-aged victims.

Homeland Security agents received a tip from an online messaging service regarding Marra, who in March 2019 told agents that he traded with other users but deleted them from his phone. When agents searched his phone, they determined that between June 2018 and March 2019 he had possessed and viewed 223 videos and 213 still images depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent children. He pleaded guilty in December 2019 to one count of possession of child pornography.

Weaver and Marra also must pay thousands of dollars in restitution to the identified victims in their cases.

When they are released from prison, they will be required to register as sex offenders, the DOJ said.

About the Author