Wilkes Co. convicted sex offender sentenced to life in prison

BOONE, N.C. (WBTV) - A Wilkes County child sex offender was sentenced to life in prison after new charges came to light.

Boone Police Department said Wednesday that 51-year-old Brian Wittke was found guilty of sharing child pornography online and producing pornography of two children under two years of age.

In addition to life in prison, he will serve a lifetime of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender if is ever released.

[Union County employee arrested for child pornography]

“Brian Wittke is a repeat sex predator who caused two young children unimaginable harm,” said U.S. Attorney Dena J. King. “Protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation is a priority for my office. Our Special Prosecutions Unit is dedicated to removing predators like Wittke from the community and working with victims to ensure they have a voice in the criminal justice system.”

The investigation started when an undercover detective from Boone downloaded videos Wittke shared online.

Officers got a search warrant of his home and took a thumb drive with 57 child pornography videos, five of which showed him engaging in sexual conduct with two toddlers.

Investigators found Wittke had been involved in sexually explicit conduct between March 2017 and July 2020.

Before that, he was convicted in Wilkes County of two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.

He pleaded guilty in 2022 to the child pornography charges.

The investigation was 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 the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. Learn more at projectsafechildhood.gov.