BURGAW — Chief United States District Judge Terrence Boyle has sentenced Burgaw resident Cheyne Potrafka, 35, to more than 18 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release, following a guilty plea for one count of receipt of child pornography last November.
The announcement was made Thursday afternoon by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert Higdon.
The charge arose from a state probation search in March 2017. The prior August, Potrafka began a term of state post-release supervision following a 2013 conviction on two counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child in Pender County Superior Court. Soon after, according to Higdon’s office, Potrafka’s probation officer became concerned about Potrafka’s compliance.
The officer had discovered that during sex-offender treatment Potrafka admitted to sexual abusing multiple children in the past and that members of his church were complaining about him lingering near children.
A warrantless search of Potrafka’s residence was conducted in early March 2017, as allowed by the supervision agreement. His computer and hard drives were examined and found to contain over 150 images and a video of child pornography. A forensic examination revealed additional files that had been deleted.
In an interview, Potrafka admitted to possession child pornography and to sexually abusing approximately 14 children during his lifetime, “describing in detail the multiple incidents of past sexual abuse,” according to the press release.
“Cases like this one are among the most important we handle as federal prosecutors,” Higdon said. “This case alone revealed how pervasive this problem is and how offenders like this defendant often leave many victims in their wake – here, by the defendant’s own admission, 14 children plus those victimized in the videos and pictures he possessed.”
The Pender County Sheriff’s Office was involved with the investgation of this case, according to the release, along with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI. The case is part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program designed to prosecute criminals who exploit children.
