On Tuesday (February 28), 33-year-old Vincent Deritis of Hickory was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with a lifetime of supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material, and was also ordered to register as a sex offender after his release from prison. According to court documents, evidence presented at trial, and the sentencing hearing, Deritis had created child pornography of an unknowing minor victim on three occasions between October 2018 and March 2019. On June 22, 2022, a federal jury convicted Deritis of three counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. As of earlier today (March 1), Deritis was in the custody of the Catawba County Detention Facility and will be transferred to the custody of the federal government.