A Vermont man has been handed down a sentence of over 22 years in federal prison for his involvement in producing and distributing child pornography. Patrick Knauss, age 35, from Essex Junction, Vermont, pleaded guilty in June to charges including conspiracy to manufacture, receive, and distribute child pornography, as well as a count of receipt of child pornography, as per the U.S. Department of Justice announcement.
According to U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, Knauss, and his co-conspirators Andrew Wolf and Kray Strange operated an "elaborate online child exploitation catfishing scheme" to clearly entice minor boys into making sexually explicit images and sending them over the Internet. In a statement made by the U.S. Department of Justice, Romero remarked that the scheme victimized dozens of children over more than two years. Wolf, a former middle school teacher, and Strange, both pleaded guilty to the catfishing scheme last year.
Today's sentencing by U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney follows Wolf's 466-month prison term in February and Strange's 396-month term in March, both followed by years of supervised release. The trio has also been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution to the minor victims.
Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia, Wayne A. Jacobs, emphasized the gravity of their crimes by stating, "The online exploitation of children is one of the most egregious crimes the FBI investigates," as noted by the U.S. Department of Justice. His office, he stressed, is committed to thoroughly protecting children and ensuing that such offenders face serious consequences for their actions.
The sentences are a result of Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative aimed to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation. The collaborative effort brings together resources from federal, state, and local agencies to take down those who exploit children and to help the victims. Assistance in the investigation was provided by the FBI with support from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Harrell.
