Christopher Loomis of Colchester Indicted for Possession of Child Pornography

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that Christopher Loomis, age 26, of Colchester, Vermont, was indicted on August 11, 2016 by a federal grand jury for possession of child pornography involving minors under the age of 12. Loomis is scheduled to be arraigned on August 25, 2016 in federal court in Burlington.

According to court documents, federal agents began investigating Loomis based on leads generated in a multi-year investigation into individuals who signed up to a website operating in a foreign country that has been used to store and exchange child pornography. Agents subsequently seized a computer and multiple hard drives from Loomis, which revealed that Loomis was in possession of a significant number of child pornography files, including files depicting minors under the age of 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

The charges against Loomis are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until and unless he is proven guilty. If convicted, Loomis faces a statutory maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and up to lifetime supervised release, although the sentence will be advised by the federal sentencing guidelines and determined by the Court.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. In Vermont, federal prosecutors are teaming up with federal, state, and local law enforcement agents to identify, investigate, and prosecute those individuals who prey upon children and those that distribute, receive, or manufacture child pornography. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, including resources on internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

The collaborative team investigating this case includes law enforcement agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The United States is represented in this case by Assistant United States Attorney Kunal Pasricha. Loomis is represented by Federal Public Defender Michael L. Desautels.