Colchester Resident Sentenced for Child Exploitation Offenses

Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on February 9, 2024, George Casey, 33, of Colchester, Vermont, was sentenced in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to serve 262 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of production of child pornography (also known as child sexual abuse material, or CSAM), and one count of possession of CSAM. Chief U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also ordered Casey to serve a 15-year term of supervised release.

According to court records and proceedings, in the summer of 2020, law enforcement received a report that Casey was sexually assaulting minor children who lived in the same neighborhood as Casey. The investigation culminated in execution of a search warrant at Casey’s residence in March 2021, during which multiple computers and other digital media were seized and searched. While searching Casey’s devices, law enforcement found five videos that showed Casey sexually assaulting two little girls, then ages 5 and 7, whom Casey knew. After discovering these videos, Casey was immediately arrested. In addition to the images and videos Casey produced, law enforcement discovered a large collection of approximately 1,419 images depicting CSAM on Casey’s digital media.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in the investigation of Casey.

Barbara A. Masterson, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont, represented the government. Mark Oettinger, Esq. represented Casey.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.