NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A former Air Force cryptologist pleaded guilty Tuesday to distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
In 2023, Lawson Heath Wright, 51, of Virginia Beach, distributed images of young children engaged in sexual conduct while a contract employee at Langley Air Force Base.
Court documents show Wright posed as an 18-year-old Ukrainian refugee named Lara Urbaszewski and claimed to be in a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old boy. The 51-year-old man also used an email account to send CSAM while posing as Urbaszewski.
On Jan. 24, the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) executed a state search warrant for the email account. Nearly three months later, on April 2, VBPD and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, executed a state search warrant on Wright’s vehicle and home.
The search warrant resulted in the seizure of several electronic devices that contained CSAM. Investigators found CSAM depicting sadistic or masochistic conduct, violence and sexually explicit images involving an infant or toddler.
Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11, 2025. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison.
