South Burlington, Vermont Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Attempting to Entice a Minor to Produce Child Sexual Abuse Materials

Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on December 2, 2025, Jason McGrath, 45, of South Burlington, Vermont, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier to a term of 120 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release. McGrath previously pleaded guilty to attempting to entice a minor to produce child sexual abuse materials (CSAM, also known as child pornography). McGrath has been detained since his guilty plea.

According to court records, McGrath corresponded with two people via an internet messaging application, offering to pay money for the production of original CSAM. McGrath sent money to the users in an effort to obtain CSAM and received CSAM from at least one user that depicted a child as young as 8 years old. McGrath also exchanged over 1,800 messages with a third person, coaching that person as to how to sexually abuse an 11-year-old girl, providing explicit instructions, and requesting photographs of the abuse.

First Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the collaborative investigation of Homeland Security Investigations and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, and thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt. McGrath was represented by Assistant Federal Defender Carmen Brooks.

This 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 U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.