Judge sentences Summerville man for possession of child pornography

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - The Department of Justice says a man was sentenced in connection to possessing child pornography.

Justin Michael Beauvais, 39, was sentenced to 8 years in federal prison by United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks, according to a news release.

The department say that evidence presented to the Court showed that in October 2020, Beauvais was a subcontractor for the Naval Information Warfare Center at McMurdo Station in Antarctica but was on leave in South Carolina.

While on leave, he accepted a new job and contacted coworkers at McMurdo Station to ask them to mail his personal hard drive to his Summerville home, a news release states.

They say that on Oct. 8, 2020, he emailed his coworkers and asked them to reformat his hard drive and mail it to him.

On Oct. 13, 2020, a coworker found the hard drive and downloaded movies that was on it when they found a video showing a nude pre-pubescent girl, a news release says.

The department says the coworkers reported the incident and superiors confirmed that there was child pornography on the hard drive.

On Oct. 28, 2020, Beauvais waived his Miranda rights and was interviewed by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, a news release states.

The department says that he denied having child pornography on his hard drive, at first. For that reason he consented to a polygraph examination and to have all of his electronics be seized from his home.

Beauvais admitted to having child pornography on the hard drive that was in Antarctica and stated that he copied child pornography from his personal device in South Carolina to the hard drive and took it to Antarctica, a news release states.

They say that agents got consent to search his home and seized electronic devices after the search including hard drives, cell phones and laptops.

The devices were reviewed and revealed thousands of images showing child pornography including toddlers and pre-pubescent minors, a news release states.

The department says that after Beauvais serves his prison sentence, he will have a lifetime term of court-ordered supervision and is ordered to pay $51,000 in restitution to the victims.

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