Draft man faces up to 1,150 years

A Stuarts Draft man faces up to 1,150 years in prison after pleading guilty to more than eight dozen child pornography charges in a case Augusta County authorities called unprecedented.

Scott E. Forrester, 39, took 13 photographs of a toddler and eight others of a teenage girl and distributed nine images – including one in which he appeared — online. He was charged with possessing 67 other images. In addition, he pleaded guilty to taking indecent liberties with a minor.

Authorities said they’d never seen a case like Forrester’s.

“There’s no comparison,” Augusta County Sheriff’s Office investigator Brian Jenkins said. “This is by far the most charges.”

Arrested April 7 at his mother’s home on December Drive in Waynesboro, Forrester listened Thursday as prosecutor Rupen Shah entered dozens of photos, CDs and DVDs into evidence, one by one.

“Commonwealth’s Exhibit 26 for Indictment 27,” Shah said, handing an image to Judge Victor V. Ludwig, then continuing, “Commonwealth’s Exhibit Number 27 for Indictment 28.” The process continued for nearly 20 minutes.

“He could be charged with 29,000 counts,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins worked with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force to arrest Forrester after he uploaded images to the Internet in March. The Alexandria-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped the task force to those uploads.

A search of Forrester’s home yielded a camcorder, a digital camera and two computers linked to the uploaded images by IP address. Investigators also found items seen in photographs, including several garments, a blanket and a doll.

Forrester pleaded guilty to 97 charges of possessing, producing and distributing child pornography.

He is being held at Middle River Regional Jail in Verona awaiting a pre-sentencing hearing ordered by the judge.