Recidivist Child Sex Offender Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that James Campbell, 57, of Swanton, Vermont, was sentenced on December 14, 2017, in United States District Court in Rutland, Vermont, to serve 135 months in prison after his guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also ordered Campbell to serve a ten (10) year term of supervised release and to pay a $100 special assessment.

According to court records and proceedings, in 2007, Campbell was convicted in Vermont Superior Court, Franklin County, of sexual assault of a child less than 16 years old. For that offense, Campbell received a sentence of 10 years imprisonment, all suspended except for 14 months. He was placed on probation upon his release.

In March 2016, law enforcement agents operating in an undercover capacity on a peer-to-peer network downloaded child pornography from another user, whom investigation determined was accessing the Internet from Campbell’s residence in Swanton, Vermont. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations executed a warrant at Campbell’s residence and seized approximately a dozen computers and hard drives. When questioned, Campbell admitted that he knowingly downloaded and possessed images of child pornography and would masturbate to those images.

Law enforcement examined Campbell’s devices. Images and videos depicting child pornography were found on 12 of the seized items. In total, approximately 1.348 million images (including some duplicates) and approximately 18,700 videos depicting child pornography, including sadistic and masochistic images and images of prepubescent children were found, with the majority being found on one of Campbell’s external hard drives. On that external hard drive, investigators discovered that the contents of the hard drive were meticulously organized into folders divided according to the month of download, victim, and the like.

United States Attorney Christina E. Nolan commended the efforts of Homeland Security Investigations and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in the investigation and prosecution of Campbell. The prosecution of Campbell was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson. Campbell was represented by Federal Public Defender Michael L. Desautels.