A former convicted Burnsville Pedophile sex offender, Nicholas Tyler Banks, who operated an internet chatroom for the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), was sentenced to 188 months (15 years and eight months) in prison on Thursday, June 5, for the distribution of child pornography. Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, made the statement. Alongside the jail sentence, 24-year-old Nicholas Tyler Banks of Burnsville, N.C., was mandated to undergo lifetime supervised release, register as a sex offender, and remit $26,000 in reparations.
Chief Daniel Duckworth of the Boone Police Department collaborates with U.S. Attorney Ferguson to reveal the information. As per court documents and the sentence hearing, commencing in September 2023, a detective from the Boone Police Department initiated an undercover investigation into the online sexual exploitation of children.
During the investigation, law enforcement ascertained that Nicholas Tyler Banks utilised a widely accessible chat program to disseminate photographs and videos illustrating the sexual exploitation of minors within a chatroom specifically designated for exchanging CSAM. All files shared by Nicholas Tyler Banks were accessible to all users of the chatroom for viewing, downloading, and redistribution.
The CSAM files portrayed prepubescent children participating in sexually explicit activities with adults, and some videos illustrated sadomasochistic behaviour. The inquiry additionally disclosed that Nicholas Tyler Banks functioned as the administrator of the chat group, responsible for incorporating new members into the group.
A search warrant was conducted at Nicholas Tyler Banks’s apartment in January 2024. A number of electronic gadgets were confiscated and subjected to forensic analysis. Investigators determined that Nicholas Tyler Banks owned the equivalent of over 47,700 CSAM photos, factoring in movies. Investigators further established that Nicholas Tyler Banks persisted in collecting and disseminating further CSAM even subsequent to the execution of the search warrant.
Nicholas Tyler Banks was previously convicted of the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in Sullivan County, Tennessee, and as a result of that conviction he is a registered sex offender.
On January 27, 2025, Banks pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography with a qualifying prior conviction.
Nicholas Tyler Banks is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. In making the announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended the Boone Police Department for their investigation of the case.
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