MACON, Ga. — A former law school student will spend years behind bars after pleading guilty to possession of child porn.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
On Thursday, Gregory Gallagher, 37, of Marietta was sentenced to six and half years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. This is after the former Mercer Law School student pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child porn in April 2024.
Court documents revealed that an investigation began after the Georgia Bureau of Investigations got five cyber tip reports between May and August 2021 from a cloud infrastructure company of suspected child sexual exploitation associated with a cell phone number attached to Gallagher.
Authorities executed a search warrant for Gallagher’s phone in January 2022. At the time, he was a student at Mercer Law School.
Agents said they found subfolders belonging to Gallagher that contained 38 videos and 1,970 images of child porn. According to authorities, another folder uploaded to the cloud from the 37-year-old’s cell phone had two videos and 3,389 photos.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Metro Atlanta nurse says she worked three 12-hour shifts before deadly crash
- 22-year-old says she started Floyd County wildfire because she was mad at her dad, report says
- Former ‘The Bachelor’ star attacked by his dog, rushed to hospital
This led officials to search Gallagher’s homes in Macon and Marietta in March 2022.
Agents said they found Gallagher’s cell phone had 97 videos and 5,749 images of children being sexually assaulted and abused, including very young children and toddlers.
“Children who experience the horror of being sexually abused are continually traumatized each and every time the image or video of the heinous act is viewed. These images are permanent and cause harm well beyond the moment they were originally captured,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
As part of Gallagher’s sentence, A judge ordered him to pay $169,649.12 in restitution to the victims. He will also be required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.
“This conviction is a victory for justice and a warning to those who prey on children—we will find you and you will face the full force of the law,” said Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Atlanta.
©2025 Cox Media Group
