Raleigh man sentenced to 7 years on child pornography charge

A Raleigh man was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday for receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents, the Raleigh Police Department received a call from a woman on Aug. 9, 2020, who reported she found images of child sexual abuse material on Michael Andrew Gilson's iPad.

She says while using it, a notification popped up and she discovered images of nude children saved to the device.

In the images, Gilson, 43, appeared to be video chatting with young girls, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The Department of Justice said the woman confronted Gilson, and he responded that he was seeking therapy for sexual addiction to juveniles and that he was helping the girls with their "sexual awakening."

Officers obtained a search warrant for the iPad and Gilson's Apple iCloud storage account. During the investigation, both accounts revealed 61 still images and 26 videos flagged as child sexual abuse material.

Gilson could be seen instructing minors as young as 8 years old to engage in sexual activity, the Department of Justice said.

He pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 22, 2023.