Birmingham attorney sentenced to 8 years in prison on child porn charges

A Birmingham attorney and former member of Gov. Kay Ivey’s staff has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty of child porn possession in October.

Chase Tristian Espy, 36, of Vestavia, will serve 97 months in prison followed by 20 months of supervised release and will be required to sign onto the sex offender’s registry.

In addition to his time, he was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Amy, Vicky and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act and $5,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

“No one is above the law, and today’s sentence sends a message to anyone who preys on innocent children.  We will use every tool available to us to investigate and prosecute those who target children for abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona. “I commend the hard work and commitment of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to bring this defendant to justice.”

In October 2022, Espy pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography arising out of events that occurred from March 2021 to August 2021.

The investigation began after Espy began talking online with a law enforcement officer who was interacting with Espy as a 15-year-old girl.

After his arrest, a search warrant was obtained and Espy’s cellphone was seized. During the search, nearly 70 videos and four images of child sexual abuse material were found.

Espy was fired from his position as deputy general counsel in the Office of the Governor soon after his arrest.

The FBI Birmingham’s Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, the Homewood Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency participated in this investigation.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.