North Carolina Man Sentenced to Prison for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Images

Press Release
North Carolina Man Sentenced to Prison for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Images
For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
A North Carolina man was sentenced today to 42 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for the possession of child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents, Blace Arthur Nalavany, 59, of Winterville, North Carolina, possessed images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Nalavany pleaded guilty to the charge on March 11.
According to evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Nalavany was an associate professor of social work at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, and a licensed clinical social worker, at the time of his arrest. His research publications include research into children who had experienced child sexual abuse. According to evidence in the case, the crime Nalavany was convicted of was committed at his home and was not connected to his employment or to any work as a licensed clinical social worker.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis of the FBI's Charlotte Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Charlotte Field Office, Greenville Resident Agency and the FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit investigated the case in collaboration with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen K. Haughton for the Eastern District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Updated July 10, 2026
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Components