Brookville Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

DAYTON—Zachary M. Holbrook, 22, of Brookville was sentenced in United States District Court here today to 27 months in prison for possession of child pornography.  

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Fairborn Police Chief Terry Barlow; and Brookville Police Chief Ed Preston, announced the sentence handed down today by United States District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

Holbrook pleaded guilty on October 6, 2009 to one count of possession of child pornography. Holbrook was arrested on October 22, 2008, after making contact with an undercover officer from the Fairborn Police Department who was posing as a 14-year-old female on Yahoo! Messenger. The day before, Holbrook sent photos of himself, exposed himself over a web camera, and solicited sex from the underage female. The next morning Holbrook made arrangements to pick up the underage female at up at the BP station on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road in Fairborn, where he was met and arrested by the undercover officer.

Forensic analysis of Holbrook’s computer revealed approximately thirty-three (33) videos, twenty-five (25) images, and fifty (50) thumbnail images containing visual depictions of actual children under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including depictions of sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence, and intercourse with adults, and with other children under the age of 18, and images of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Holbrook was ordered to enroll in a residential sex offender treatment program while serving his prison term and to serve five years of supervised release, a form of parole, after his prison term. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys 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/.

Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by officers and agents of the FBI, Fairborn Police Department, and Brookville Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Clemmens, who prosecuted the case.