Holly Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography

Chad Alan Cole, 45, of Holly, Michigan, was sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today. Judge Arthur J. Tarnow imposed the sentence.

Joining McQuade in the announcement was Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Evidence established that Cole, who had previously been convicted of distributing obscene material to children, met a 12 year-old girl from Idaho online. Over the course of several months, Cole befriended the child before eventually convincing her to create sexually explicit pictures and videos of herself. Cole also sent images and videos of himself masturbating to the child and convinced the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct over Skype. After his arrest, Cole admitted to engaging in similar behavior with 10-20 other minors.

Cole previously worked as a firefighter for the Village of Holly and a 911 dispatcher for the City of Auburn Hills before being terminated as a result of his prior sex offense.

This case was first investigated by and subsequently brought to the attention of the FBI by local authorities in Lewiston, Idaho. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin M. Mulcahy of the General Crimes Unit.