The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that Louis Hamlin II, 77, of Huntington, Vermont, was sentenced on July 12, 2021, in United States District Court in Rutland, Vermont, to serve 72 months in prison after his guilty plea to one count of knowingly producing with intent to distribute child pornography that is an adapted or morphed depiction of an identifiable minor. Chief U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also ordered Hamlin to serve a five (5) year term of supervised release and to pay a $100 special assessment.
According to court records and proceedings, in February 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a Cybertip that someone at a specific IP address in Vermont had uploaded or viewed an image of child pornography. NCMEC referred the Cybertip to the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) for investigation. Thereafter, the ICAC and special agents with Homeland Security Investigations identified the user of the IP address to be Louis Hamlin II. Law enforcement obtained and executed a search warrant at Hamlin’s residence in Huntington, Vermont and discovered images of child pornography on his computer.
As part of his plea agreement, Hamlin admitted that he used a computer that was connected to the Internet, a facility of interstate and foreign commerce, to upload and distribute an image file depicting an identifiable minor that had been modified to make it appear that the child was engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Specifically, Hamlin admitted to taking an image of an identifiable child and cropping and modifying it so particular aspects of the image were highlighted. In doing so, the image created by Hamlin appeared to show the child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the efforts of the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations in the investigation and prosecution of Hamlin. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson handled the prosecution of Hamlin. Assistant Federal Public Defender David L. McColgin represented Hamlin.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ophardt noted that 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 Child Exploitation Obscenity Section, Criminal Division (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 www.justice.gov/psc.
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