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Press Release

Brattleboro Man Sentenced To Prison For Child Pornography Offense

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Vermont

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Grant Klein, 33, of Brattleboro, Vermont, was sentenced on October 27, 2014, in United States District Court in Rutland, Vermont, to serve a term of 12 months and one-day imprisonment and a 10-year period of supervised release following his conviction on one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B).  Judge Geoffrey C. Crawford also ordered Klein to pay a $100 special assessment.

According to court records and proceedings, law enforcement executed a warrant to search Klein’s residence for evidence of child pornography offenses after a computer located at that residence was identified as accessing and downloading child pornography over the Internet.  Klein admitted that he possessed child pornography on his cell phone, he had earlier destroyed the hard drive to his desktop computer to avoid detection by law enforcement, he derived sexual gratification from looking at child pornography, and he described himself as a pedophile.  A forensic examination of his cellphone revealed approximately 71 images of child pornography were on it.  Some of the images in Klein’s collection depicted the rape of infants and other sadistic and masochistic conduct.

United States Attorney Coffin commended the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Brattleboro Police Department, and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task in the investigation and prosecution of Klein.

The prosecution of Klein was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson.  Klein was represented by Assistant Federal Defender David L. McColgin.

U.S. Attorney Coffin noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice=s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s 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.

Updated June 22, 2015