Colorado Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Creation and Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces Justin Welsh, 32, of Peyton, Colorado, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. Additionally, Welsh will serve a 20-year-term of supervised release and is ordered to pay a $10,000 special assessment pursuant to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act (AVAA).

According to the plea agreement, the defendant came to the attention of law enforcement after an internet service provider submitted a Cyber Tipline Report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in July 2024.  The resulting investigation revealed that the defendant had created sexually explicit pictures and videos of a three-year-old minor victim and distributed the content he created to another individual.  According to the plea agreement, the defendant also memorialized sexual contact he engaged in with a second minor and distributed that content as well.

“This defendant committed horrific crimes against young people in his care. This sentence puts him exactly where he belongs for the next several decades,” said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly.

United States District Judge Daniel D. Domenico presided over the sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant United States Attorneys Alecia L. Riewerts and Dustin André-Vandenberg handled the prosecution of the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.