Columbus former executive in longtime family business sentenced in child porn case
A former executive from a historic Columbus family business was sentenced Thursday to more than seven years in federal prison for possessing child pornography,
Edward Sprouse Boyd Sr., 49, pleaded guilty in October to one count of possessing child pornography. He was sentenced Tuesday morning by U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land.
Before his arrest in 2020, Boyd was a vice president at his family’s business, Goldens’ Foundry and Machine Company, which dates back to 1882. He lost that position after charges were filed against him.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents raided Boyd’s Carson Drive home on Aug. 20, 2020, after the social media platform MeWe submitted several tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, also known as the NCMEC, about uploads of suspected child porn.
Boyd’s account had images of nude girls, as well as child-centered sexually explicit chats with other users, investigators said.
“Eighteen electronic devices were seized during the execution of the warrant, to include a cell phone belonging to Boyd,” federal prosecutors wrote in a news release.
They said the cell phone contained 5,047 images and 1,157 videos of “child abuse material” and 10,643 images and 1,013 videos that were “child exploitative/age difficult.”
Boyd remains free on pretrial release until he’s sent to prison. Land gave him 87 months, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
He was ordered to pay $22,000 in fines to federal victims assistance funds, $5,000 to a fund established under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and $17,000 to one under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018, according to court records.
He is to pay an additional $55,000 in restitution.
He was represented by Columbus attorney Jennifer Curry, who declined to comment on his sentencing. The prosecutor was Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals.
