WHEELING, W.Va. –– A federal judge has accepted a plea deal from a former Buckhannon elected official accused in a child pornography investigation.
David McCauley, 66, who served as the mayor and on the city council, entered a guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography; in exchange, the prosecution has agreed to drop two counts of production of child pornography.
McCauley admitted to being in a relationship with the victim and acknowledged he did in fact possess child pornography.
“Manipulating a child to produce pornographic images is a despicable crime,” said U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. “I’m grateful for the hard work of our law enforcement partners to ensure that David McCauley will no longer pose a threat to the community.”
The plea agreement states McCauley will serve not more than 10 years in prison and pay a fine of $10,000.
A sentencing date has not been set.
At sentencing, McCauley will have the opportunity to address the court.