Loudoun County CA Buta Biberaj Dismisses (47) Counts of Child Porn, Including Images of Toddler Being Sexually Tortured in Plea Deal

Claude Joseph Church was willing to accept up to five years imprisonment for child pornography possession, but a judge rejected his plea bargain, saying he wouldn’t accept responsibility for his alleged crimes.
On Aug. 18 in Loudoun Circuit Court, Church was set to plead guilty to possession of child pornography and two counts of the second or subsequent offense of possession. The 27-year-old Leesburg resident agreed to be sentenced to 15 years with 10 suspended. As part of the deal, the county commonwealth’s attorney’s office would dismiss 47 counts of the second or subsequent offense of possession.
But Judge Jeanette A. Irby said Church wouldn’t admit in a psychosexual evaluation that was part of a pre-sentence investigation that he knew he downloaded child porn. She said the downloaded images seized by police from Church’s computer were of pre-pubescent girls and included images of toddlers being tortured. However, Irby said Church told a counselor that he thought he was just downloading adult porn and never viewed the images or videos.
“He said he kept them because he is a big hoarder. He directly contradicts what he pleaded to.” Irby said. “I have concerns that he does not accept what he has pleaded to.”
The investigation began on Jan. 18, 2018, according to court documents written by Barry A. Zweig, a deputy commonwealth’s attorney. He wrote that FBI Special Agent Tonya Griffith used a law enforcement tool to connect to a peer-to-peer file sharing network that was trafficking child pornography. She identified an IP address that allegedly was traced back to Church’s home.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office was notified on Jan. 23, 2018, and Zweig wrote that a search of a computer in Church’s bedroom led to 356 images of child porn being found. Church was eventually charged with 50 counts of child porn possession.
“There was info that he downloaded [the images], but no info that he shared them,” Zwieg told Irby. “As far as how many times he looked at them, I don’t have that information.”
As part of the plea rejection process, Irby recused herself from the case. Church is due back in court at 2 p.m. on Sept. 11.