McCauley

CLARKSBURG – Former Buckhannon Mayor David Walter McCauley was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison on Thursday for possessing images of a minor engaged in sexually explicit acts.

In December, McCauley, 66, pled guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, McCauley enticed a 17-year-old boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct for photo and video production. McCauley had several electronic devices that contained illegal images and videos seized from his home and office. The devices contained images and videos of the minor engaged in sexual action with McCauley, officials said.

McCauley was arrested on Oct. 2 and was originally charged with two counts of production and one count of possession of child pornography; however, in exchange for his guilty plea, the two counts of production were dismissed.

McCauley, who was the mayor of Buckhannon from 2016 to 2020, was serving a four-year term on Buckhannon City Council when he was arrested. He resigned from city council on Oct. 8.

Assistant United States Attorney Kimbery Crockett prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pittsburgh Police Department, and Upshur County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, which was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May of 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. The initiative is led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS.

Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided over Thursday’s hearing. McCauley will serve 10 years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit Justice.gov/PSC.