A Citrus Heights man is headed to federal prison for six years and eight months after a jury convicted him of receiving child sex abuse material. The sentence was handed down on Monday in Sacramento federal court, and the defendant was ordered into the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his time immediately.
Kyle Travis Colton, 38, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. The office said the sentence was imposed on Monday and confirmed Colton was remanded at the end of the hearing.
Prosecutors told jurors that a search of Colton’s home turned up a laptop containing numerous images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children, much of it saved in the desktop and downloads folders. They said the files were downloaded between July 2022 and December 2023 and included bookmarks to known child pornography websites, as detailed in earlier coverage on how the files were downloaded between July 2022 and December 2023. Colton was convicted by a jury after a one-day trial in July. He had previously pleaded guilty to charges tied to the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol breach and was included in a presidential pardon, as reported by CBS News Sacramento.
Investigation and prosecution
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny, according to the office’s press release. The release notes that the prosecution was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, the Department of Justice initiative focused on combating online child sexual exploitation.
The law behind the sentence
The federal statute commonly used in receipt cases, 18 U.S.C. § 2252A, carries a sentencing range that generally runs from a minimum of five years to a maximum of 20 years in prison for receipt offenses. For the statutory text and penalties, see the Legal Information Institute’s summary of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A.
Local outlets including Action News Now reported on the hearing and on the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement. Court records and formal filings will remain the official public sources for any additional details about Colton’s sentence and custody status.
