Buchanan Man Pleads Guilty Child Exploitation Charges
Saturday, February 1, 2025, 7:00 P.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
ROANOKE, VA.- A 45-year-old Buchanan, Virginia man is facing up to 40 years in federal prison when sentenced after pleading guilty to exposing and photographing the genitals of a six-year-old girl and then sharing them online with another individual.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Lee, last week, Christopher Buono, 45, of Buchanan, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia and pleaded guilty to one count of Child Sexual Exploitation; and one count of Possession of Child Pornography.
According to the charging information filed with the District Court, in January 2024, a party was hosted at Buono’s Buchanan, Virginia home. At one point in the evening, Buono and a female child, who was approximately 6 years old, went to Buono’s game room, and either the child or Buono pulled down her pants and underwear, exposing her genitals.
Buono then used his cellular phone to take sexually explicit digital photographs of the child. Later that night, Buono used an online messaging application to send one of the digital images to another individual with a sexual interest in children.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lee commended the investigative work of the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office for the investigation leading to Buono’s guilty plea.
