Marquis Drakeford Bynum, a 45-year-old resident of Charlotte, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) involving a prepubescent minor and violating his federal supervised release. This announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ordered Bynum to serve a lifetime of supervised release, register as a sex offender after his release, and pay $33,000 in restitution.
James C. Barnacle, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Division, joined U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making this announcement.
The case originated from Bynum’s breach of his federal supervised release terms following his 2007 conviction for transporting and possessing CSAM. On August 16, 2023, the U.S. Probation Office (USPO) conducted a search of Bynum’s residence as part of his probationary terms and discovered two cell phones and a flash drive containing thousands of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse involving minors as young as toddlers. Following this discovery, new federal charges were filed against Bynum, who pleaded guilty on April 10, 2024.
Bynum remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons once a facility is designated.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson expressed gratitude towards the FBI for their efforts on this case and acknowledged the USPO’s crucial role in investigating the sex offender.
Assistant United States Attorney Kimlani Ford from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse more effectively by coordinating resources at various governmental levels to locate and prosecute offenders while rescuing victims.
For further details about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
