Knightdale mechanic called ‘spider’ in federal child sexual abuse material case
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Daniel Tyrolf pleaded guilty in November to distributing child pornography.
- More than 600 images were found on one of Tyrolf’s devices.
- Tyrolf was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison last week.
A Knightdale mechanic was sentenced in federal court last week in a child sexual abuse material case that led a federal official to call him a “spider.”
Daniel Shane Tyrolf, 35, was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina said in a news release. Tyrolf pleaded guilty in November to distribution of child pornography.
“Spiders like this hide in the dark corners of the internet web, but we will stomp them out with no mercy,” Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, said in the release.
The investigation into Tyrolf stemmed from a complaint by the social media platform Kik, which reported one of its users had been distributing child sexual abuse material, according to the release. That user’s IP addresses came back to Tyrolf’s home and workplace, Tyrolf Automotive in Knightdale, the release said.
Public records show Tyrolf’s parents founded the auto shop in 2006. It’s not clear how long Daniel Tyrolf had worked there.
Search warrants were executed on Tyrolf’s home and the auto shop last April as part of an investigation by the Wake County Sheriff’s Office and Knightdale Police Department, the release said. More than 600 images of prepubescent children were found on one of the several electronic devices seized from those locations, and Tyrolf had uploaded almost 100 files of child-sexual-abuse material to chats he participated in.
The illegal activity dated to as early as March 2020, according to the indictment. Federal authorities arrested Tyrolf in September, court records show.
In addition to his federal sentence, Tyrolf will also be on supervised release for 25 years and must pay a $5,000 fine, according to the release.
“This arrest highlights the importance of the collaboration and diligence our agency has with our federal, state, and local partners to protect the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe.
This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 1:17 PM.
