Granby Man Sentenced for Child Exploitation Offenses

BOSTON – A Granby man was sentenced on Friday, May 21, 2021 in federal court in Springfield for child exploitation offenses.

Jonathan Monson, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 40 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. In October 2020, Monson was convicted by a federal jury of four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, eight counts of distribution of child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. 

At trial, the evidence established that Monson produced sexually explicit images and videos of a child on four occasions in 2017 and 2018. The images and videos were later found on his cell phone. In addition, in June 2017, Monson distributed additional child pornography files to a group on social media. In fact, Monson was trading child pornography videos on social media at 3:30 in the morning with another user, just a few hours before federal agents executed a search warrant at his home. Agents found additional child pornography files on Monson’s phone as a result of the search.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Kurt R. Erskine; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Granby Police Chief Alan Wishart made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Mendell’s Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.