Calhoun County Man Sentenced to 17.5 Years for Producing Child Pornography

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Bradley Dean Buehrer, 30, of Marshall, Michigan, received a sentence of 210 months in prison for sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. U.S. District Robert Holmes Bell presided over the sentencing and also ordered that, upon Buehrer’s release from prison, Buehrer will serve the rest of his life on supervised release.

On June 21, 2010, Buehrer pleaded guilty to taking sexually explicit pictures as he sexually assaulted a 2-year-old girl. The assault occurred back in September 30, 2005, in Buehrer’s former residence in Jonesville, Michigan. The pictures were not discovered until April 2010, after Buehrer’s girlfriend discovered and reported the pictures to law enforcement authorities. Buehrer was arrested on May 13, 2010, and has remained in custody.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutors’ offices, an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate local communities about the dangers of online child exploitation, and to teach children how to protect themselves. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit the following web site: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the FBI, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department, and Marshall Police Department, with the assistance of the Calhoun County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru.