Zachary Norris, 35, has been sentenced to 262 months in prison for distributing child pornography and accessing such material with intent to view it. The sentencing took place on October 14, 2025.
Court documents indicate that a social media platform flagged an account linked to Norris for containing child pornography. Investigators reviewed the account’s content and found multiple conversations where Norris discussed his attraction to children and sent videos of child pornography to other users. Authorities executed a search warrant at Norris’s home, seizing his cell phone. The examination revealed over 90 images and videos of child pornography, including one image that appeared to have been digitally altered by superimposing a child’s face onto adult pornography.
After serving his prison sentence, Norris will be subject to a 15-year supervised release term. During this period, he is barred from possessing internet-capable devices and having contact with minors. He must also register as a sex offender and pay $23,000 in restitution to the victims.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama announced the sentencing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case.
This prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating federal, state, and local efforts to apprehend offenders and protect victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc; resources on internet safety education are available at https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources.
