Gregory Neal Hager, a 40-year-old resident of Madison in Boone County, pleaded guilty on October 7, 2025, to possessing child pornography. The plea was entered in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
According to information presented in court, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hager’s home on December 7, 2023. During the search, they seized an external hard drive attached to his desktop computer. A forensic review of this device uncovered 146 images and six videos showing child pornography involving a pubescent minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Hager admitted that these materials were screen captures from Snapchat conversations with the minor and that he knowingly saved them to his external hard drive. He also acknowledged knowing that the minor depicted was under the age of 18.
Hager is set for sentencing on January 14, 2026. He faces up to ten years in prison, a fine of as much as $250,000, and supervised release ranging from five years to life. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Moore Capito announced the plea and recognized the investigative efforts by the West Virginia State Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).”
Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing while Assistant United States Attorney Lesley C. Shamblin prosecuted.
The case falls under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), which aims to address child sexual exploitation online through coordinated federal, state, and local resources. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
Court documents related to this case are available through PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-94.
