David Paul Daniel, 37, of Mint Hill, North Carolina — a pardoned January 6 rioter — reached a plea agreement on April 14, 2026 to admit guilt on federal charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material.
From 2015 to 2019, Daniel forced a minor to shower with him, sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions, and took nude photos of her. In 2015-2016, he enticed a minor under age 12 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions. The FBI discovered the images during a November 2023 search of his home — the same month he was arrested for his January 6 crimes.
Daniel attempted to argue that Trump's mass pardon of January 6 defendants covered the child exploitation charges. U.S. District Judge Matthew Orso rejected this: “Child exploitation is not 'conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.'” The pardon's “plain language does not apply.”
Daniel is the second pardoned January 6 rioter to face child sexual abuse consequences. Andrew Paul Johnson, another pardoned rioter, was sentenced to life in prison in March 2026 for sexually abusing two middle-school children seven months after his pardon freed him. CREW has identified at least 33 pardoned January 6 defendants rearrested for new crimes, including 6 charged with child sex crimes.
See also: jan6-pardon-child-sex-abuse (Johnson life sentence), jan6-mass-pardons (33+ rearrested)