Oldsmar Man Sentenced To 75 Years For Producing And Distributing Child Sexual Abuse And AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Images

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia H. Covington has sentenced Justin Ryan Culmo (40, Oldsmar) to 75 years in federal prison for three counts of production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), one count of distribution of CSAM, one count of possession of CSAM, and one count of production of CSAM that is an adapted or modified depiction of a minor. The court also ordered Culmo to forfeit five computers/laptops, 13 cameras, four CDs, four floppy drives, two MP3/audio players, 14 hard drives, three phones, one surveillance camera, one gaming console, three SD cards, five thumb drives, two encryption keys, and one tablet, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense. Culmo pled guilty on December 5, 2024.

According to court documents, over the course of 11 years, Culmo filmed himself sexually abusing dozens of children, including infants and toddlers. He subsequently distributed those images and videos on dark websites dedicated solely to child sexual abuse material. Culmo possessed nearly 86,000 images and 845 videos of CSAM and approximately 8,500 artificial intelligence-generated CSAM images. 

“The investigation into Justin Ryan Culmo underscores our unwavering commitment to protect our children from this, or any kind of exploitation,” said Homeland Security Investigations Tampa Special Agent in Charge John Condon. “His actions in creating child sexual abuse material and exploiting the innocence of children, with both real and AI-generated imagery, is an egregious violation of a child’s inherent right to safety and dignity. HSI Tampa will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who exploit children face the full force of the law.” 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Abigail K. King.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.