Man pleads guilty to fourth child pornography offense

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — A man accused of possession of child pornography pled guilty to his fourth federal offense, said the Department of Justice.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office District of South Carolina, 61-year-old David Elliott Paulsen admitted that within four months of his release from the Bureau of Prisons for a 2014 conviction for possession of child pornography, he possessed a phone and child pornography.

After his release from federal prison in March 2023, Paulsen was required to complete the remainder of his sentence at a residential reentry facility in Columbia.

Investigators say Paulsen admitted that on July 13, 2023, the residential reentry center employees discovered a phone in his room.

Law enforcement searched the phone and discovered over 1,200 images containing child sex abuse material (CSAM) and at least one video.

Paulsen admitted to investigators that he kept the images in password-protected cellphone applications and was downloading the images from the Dark Web. 

He has three prior federal convictions from 1993, 2004, and 2014 for possession of child pornography and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to 20 years in federal prison.

The Department of Justice says he will remain detained until his sentencing.