Konnor Wolfe Lyons, a 35-year-old resident of Huntington, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on November 17, 2025, to charges related to the receipt or attempted receipt of child pornography.
Court records show that on September 24, 2023, Lyons used a peer-to-peer file sharing network to download 464 digital media files containing child pornography. He admitted in court that he knowingly downloaded these files over the internet and was aware they depicted minors involved in sexually explicit acts, including instances of sadistic and masochistic abuse.
Lyons also acknowledged further criminal activity. On September 2, 2024, he again used a peer-to-peer network to download six additional files depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These were also obtained via an internet connection.
A search warrant was executed at Lyons’ home on September 4, 2025. Law enforcement officers seized his cell phone and a forensic analysis found 1,546 images of child pornography. Lyons admitted most of these images were cache files created when he previously downloaded such material using his phone.
Sentencing is set for March 2, 2026. Lyons faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to twenty years in prison. He may also receive at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and could be fined as much as $250,000.
United States Attorney Moore Capito announced the plea and recognized the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Parkersburg Police Department in investigating the case.
The hearing was overseen by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers. Assistant United States Attorney Lesley C. Shamblin is prosecuting the matter.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating federal, state, and local resources to investigate and prosecute offenders as well as identify victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
The case also resulted from Operation Restore Justice—a nationwide effort involving all FBI field offices and several other agencies—which led to the rescue of more than one hundred children and over two hundred arrests during a five-day operation targeting child sex predators across the country.
Related court documents are available through PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-76.
