VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach man and former cryptologist pleaded guilty on Tuesday to distribution of child sexual abuse material, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Lawson Heath Wright, 51, was employed at Langley Air Force Base as a contracted cryptologist in 2023 when he distributed images depicting young children engaged in sexual conduct. Wright posed as an 18-year-old Ukrainian refugee named Lara Urbaszewski and claimed to be having a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old male. On multiple occasions, posing as Urbaszewski, Wright used an email account to send child sexual abuse material to users.
On Jan. 24, 2024, Virginia Beach Police executed a state search warrant for the email account, and on April 2, 2024, VBPD, in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations Norfolk, executed a state search warrant on Wright’s vehicle and residence. Investigators seized several electronic devices including a cellphone, an external hard drive, laptops, and a micro-SD. Child sexual abuse material was found on each of these devices. Some of the material on Wright’s devices depicts sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence or sexually explicit images involving an infant or toddler.
Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11, 2025. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
