Commonwealth v. Philip Charles Bay; Man Sent Back to Prison for 20 Years for Possession of Child Pornography;  Previously Imprisoned for Terrorist Plot against Local High School

Virginia Beach, Va. – Colin D. Stolle, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the city of Virginia Beach, announced that Philip Charles Bay, age 33, formerly of the 2800 block of Saville Garden Way in Virginia Beach, Virginia, was sentenced on charges of Possession of Child Pornography -1^st Offense and Possession of Child Pornography - Subsequent Offense (19 counts).  Bay was found guilty of these charges by Circuit Court Judge Kevin M. Duffan after a trial on August 29, 2024.  Judge Duffan sentenced Bay to 100 years in prison with eighty (80) years suspended, leaving twenty (20) years to serve.

The Commonwealth’s evidence proved that in October 2022, Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. submitted 13 reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding one of their users uploading child pornography to their account.  Synchronoss Technologies is a cloud-based storage site that handles cloud storage for Verizon Wireless customers. The child pornography was determined to be uploaded between October 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. NCMEC relayed this information to Virginia Beach police on December 20, 2022, and officers began an investigation into the identity of the individual uploading the child pornography. 

Police sent a search warrant to Synchronoss Technologies for the account of the registered phone number.  Their search revealed numerous files of child pornography.  The cloud also contained photos of Bay in various states of undress, photos of Bay with colleagues, uploads of Bay’s driver’s license and social security cards, e-mail correspondence, and a resumé cover letter stating Bay’s name, phone number, and address in the 2800 block of Saville Garden Way.   There were also PDF documents that contained links to outside websites, which contained graphic language indicating child pornography.

From April through June 2023, investigators conducted surveillance at Bay’s residence on Saville Garden Way. They observed Bay exit his home several times.  Bay was arrested at the Virginia Beach Probation and Parole office on June 22, 2023. 

Bay has prior convictions for Act of Terrorism – Base Offense 20 Years or More (2 counts), Possession of Sawed-Off Shotgun (2 counts), Possess/Use/Manufacture Firebomb (11 counts), Solicit/Recruit another for Act of Terrorism (2 counts), Possess Weapon of Terrorism with Intent to Terrorize, and Cruelty to Animals.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Joseph A. DiNonno and Brandon C. Emery prosecuted this case. Please contact Macie Allen if additional information is desired.