Hinesburg Man Sentenced To Prison For Child Pornography Offense

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Gregory Brusso, 57, of Hinesburg, Vermont, was sentenced on December 1, 2014, in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to serve 18-months imprisonment and a five-year period of supervised release following his conviction on one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B).  Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered Brusso to pay a $100 special assessment.

According to court records and proceedings, Brusso, a former member of the Vermont Air National Guard, ordered a DVD containing child pornography from what he thought was a company that had such materials for sale.  This company was actually an undercover operation being run by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  After Brusso accepted delivery of the DVD at his residence, Postal Inspectors executed a search warrant and confiscated his computer.  A forensic examination of the computer revealed the presence of images of child pornography on it. 

In 2003, Brusso was identified through his credit card history as having made purchases at three websites known to sell child pornography.  In 2008, law enforcement investigated Brusso for allegedly uploading an image of child pornography to an Internet group run by Yahoo!. 

United States Attorney Coffin commended the efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service in the prosecution of Brusso.  The prosecution of Brusso was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson.  Brusso was represented by Richard C. Bothfeld. 

U.S. Attorney Coffin noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice=s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney=s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit  www.projectsafechildhood.gov.