A former church youth ministry volunteer from Rolla, Missouri, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for charges related to child pornography. U.S. District Judge John A. Ross delivered the sentence on Wednesday, also ordering Bradley Thomas Colvin to pay $84,000 in restitution to 28 victims identified in the child sexual abuse material (CSAM) he possessed.
Colvin engaged in searching for, viewing, and downloading CSAM over several years. He distributed this material through a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to an officer with the Missouri State Highway Patrol during an investigation. Following a court-approved search of his home, Colvin admitted during a polygraph examination that he had touched a minor for sexual gratification at a pool party held after Vacation Bible School. Investigators discovered at least 833 videos and 5,566 images containing CSAM on Colvin’s electronic devices as part of his guilty plea.
At age 52, Colvin pleaded guilty in March in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. Upon release from prison, he will be under supervised release for life.
The case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuting.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project coordinates federal, state, and local resources to apprehend individuals exploiting children online and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
