Albany Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Attempting to Receive Child Sexual Abuse Material

EUGENE, Ore.— An Albany, Oregon, man was sentenced to federal prison today for attempting to receive child sexual abuse material from an undercover law enforcement officer who was posing as a child online. Paul Chapple, 62, was sentenced to 102 months in federal prison and a 10-year term of supervised release. According to court documents, Chapple engaged in sexual chats online with multiple people he thought were girls under the age of 15. One of the “girls” was an undercover agent with the FBI who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. Chapple sent sexual images, discussed driving cross-country to meet, and asked for child sexual abuse images. Chapple used Meet24, with a user profile stating he was 50 years old and displaying his own photograph. On October 8, 2025, Chapple was charged with using a minor to produce visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, possession and receipt of child pornography, and enticement of a minor. That day, the FBI searched a shared housing complex where Chapple lived. Chapple possessed several images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material and numerous chats with self-identified minors in which he requested child sexual abuse material. Chapple was arrested and made his first appearance in federal court on October 9, 2025. On June 17, 2026, Chapple pleaded guilty to attempted receipt of child pornography. This case was investigated by the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. McLaren. Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov . Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. It is important to remember child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, re-victimize and re-traumatize the child victims each time their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org . This case was brought in collaboration with Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .