ST. ALBANS, W.Va. — A former St. Albans auxiliary police officer will serve more than a decade in prison for possession of child pornography.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia said Monday that Billy J. Griffith, 58, of St. Albans, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for receipt of child pornography and possession of prepubescent child pornography. He was found guilty by a federal jury on June 15, 2023.
Griffith had been an auxiliary officer with the St. Albans Police Department for about seven years. His wife operated a child daycare at the residence.
On August 24, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Griffith’s home on Baier Street. The search warrant was obtained after officers traced an Internet Protocol (IP) address to Griffith’s residence that had been used to download multiple digital media files of child pornography.
Officers seized an external hard drive, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and a cell phone during the search warrant. A total of 3,383 images and four videos depicting child pornography came from the four electronic devices.
United States Attorney Will Thompson helped prosecute the case.
“I helped try this case personally because Mr. Griffith betrayed his position of trust in the community with criminal conduct that involved the degradation of prepubescent minors,” Thompson said. “I commend the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and our other law enforcement partners who investigated this case and analyzed the evidence.”
Griffith must also register as a sex offender.