Germain Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography and Assaulting a Federal Officer

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Colin Germain, 21, formerly of New Haven, Vermont has been sentenced to a total term of incarceration of twenty-six months for child pornography and assault offenses. On May 17, 2019, Germain had pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of assault on a federal officer. On Friday, United States District Court Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Germain to twenty months for the child pornography offense and six months for the assault offense, to be served consecutively, with a twelve year term of supervised release to follow.

According to court records and proceedings, on August 2, 2017, Germain emailed a recipient in Tennessee a video file depicting sexual abuse of a female child involving bestiality.  Law enforcement identified the Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the email account that sent the video, then traced the IP address to Germain’s New Haven address and obtained a warrant to search the location. Federal, state, and local officers executed the warrant on November 7, 2017. During their search of the residence, Germain became argumentative and kicked a Special Agent for Homeland Security Investigations. 

Germain was initially charged for this conduct in Vermont Superior Court. In March 2018, he was charged federally. According to court records and proceedings, during the time when Germain was on pretrial release after being charged, he violated court-imposed conditions multiple times by accessing the internet, continuing to trade in child pornography, and committing additional assaults.

United States Attorney Christina Nolan commended Homeland Security Investigations for its investigative efforts throughout this case. She stated “Prosecution of child sexual exploitation crimes continues to be a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Moreover, it is important to recognize that officers and agents in our partner law enforcement agencies put themselves in harm’s way every day as they work to protect the public. Any assault on a law enforcement officer performing his or her duties is both serious and unacceptable.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to seek serious consequences for this conduct.” 

The 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources better to 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.

The prosecutor in this matter was Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Cate. Germain was represented by Federal Public Defenders Elizabeth Quinn and David McColgin.