A 35-year-old Madison County man faces 20 years in prison following his conviction Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Athens of distributing videos and photos showing young children being sexually abused.
Christopher Rodney Snow of Carlton was convicted after a two-day trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal Judge Tilman Self III will impose a sentence in October.
“Snow not only distributed the disturbing material for years, but didn’t stop even after he was under arrest and facing trial,” said Ken Farley, agent in charge of the Atlanta FBI office.
“By cutting his ankle monitor prior to the trial, Snow attempted to evade justice for actively distributing and possessing … sexual abuse material involving young children,” U.S. Attorney Peter Leary said.
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Snow came under investigation in 2018, when the GBI reported it received a tip from the National Center for Missing Exploited Children that a Facebook user had distributed child abuse items through Facebook messenger.
When the investigation identified the source as Snow’s home in Carlton, a search warrant was obtained, according to the federal document.
Agents found a padlocked room in the home, where electronic devices were reported seized. The 45 images and 17 videos contained images of children under the age of 12 being sexually abused, according to the U.S. Attorney.
Federal agents said that while Snow was out of jail awaiting trial, he was required to wear an ankle brace and was barred from using electronic devices.
However, just days before his trial on June 1, the GBI reported it received information that Snow had continued to distribute the materials on a Kik app during 2022 when he was out on bond. Snow was scheduled for a hearing on June 2, but he cut off his ankle monitor the day before and did not show for the hearing, according to the report.
He was located and arrested by U.S. Marshals on June 5 at a house on Paoli Road east of Comer. Three Madison County Sheriff’s deputies met with the federal agents and together they went to the house, according to a sheriff’s report.
The agent knocked on the door multiple times without any response, however, deputies reported the federal agents knew Snow was inside, so they forced a door open. Snow was then taken into custody and transported to Macon.
He was brought to trial the next day.