Entrance sign at Army’s Fort Wainwright in Alaska. (U.S. Army)
A soldier in Alaska who used the online name “ghoulishclown” was charged in federal court with possessing more than 3,000 photos and videos of child pornography, according to federal officials.
Pvt. David Andres Mayoral, 20, assigned to Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, was arraigned Friday on three counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, according to records from the U.S. District Court of Alaska.
A search warrant of Mayoral’s electronic devices found more than 2,500 photos and 680 videos of “child sexual abuse materials,” according to the federal indictment.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Oravec on Monday ordered Mayoral held in federal custody pending trial to ensure “the safety of the community, including that of minor victims.”
No trial date has been set.
Court records list U.S. public defender Gary George Colbath as representing Mayoral. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Michelle McCaskill, spokeswoman for the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel at Fort Belvoir, Va., which handles most sex crime prosecutions within the service, said the Army could have prosecuted Mayoral under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or have the case filed by federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court of Alaska.
“The accused faced similar maximum punishments — hundreds of years confinement — in both military and federal court,” McCaskill said. “However, there is no mandatory minimum sentence for child pornography in the military. In federal court, there is a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for child pornography.”
Federal court documents show the investigation began last year when Mayoral was stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia.
The Army Criminal Investigation Division office at Langley-Eustis received a tip on Sept. 11, 2024, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that five images of child sexual abuse were uploaded to an online platform.
CID officers reviewed the images and found they depicted “child sexual abuse material” of “prepubescent female children.” They were able to trace the device used to upload the images to Mayoral.
Mayoral used the online name “goulishclown” in some internet communications involving child pornography, according to the indictment. The soldier also had sexually explicit online conversations with minors in which he asked them to take lewd photos of themselves and directed how to send them to him through the online platform Discord.
Army records show Mayoral was stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis from May 15, 2024, to Oct. 11, 2024, when he was transferred to Fort Wainwright.
Reagan Zimmerman-Hartzheim, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska, said the charges could be filed in Alaska instead of Virginia because Mayoral had brought the images with him when he transferred to Fort Wainwright.
Army CID and the FBI Anchorage Field Office continue to jointly investigate the case. They are seeking information about the case from anyone who might have encountered an individual using the name “David Mayoral” or “ghoulishclown’ online. Army investigators can be reached at 907-353-6212 or online at www.cid.army.mil/Submit-a-Tip/.
