August 21, 2014

Portage Man Sentenced to 96 Months for Receiving Child Pornography

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Justin Bortz, 24, Portage, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James Peterson to 96 months in federal prison, to be followed by 20 years of supervised release, for receiving child pornography. Bortz pleaded guilty to this charge on June 27, 2014.

This investigation stemmed from the prosecution and conviction of Kyle Lutz, Oconomowoc, Wis., who was sentenced on May 3, 2013 in U.S. District Court in Madison to 15 years in federal prison for production of child pornography. A forensic examination of Lutz’s computer provided information on several individuals engaged in trading child pornography, including Bortz.

On November 15, 2013, a search warrant was issued for Bortz’s computers. A forensic examination of those computers revealed that Bortz distributed and received child pornography.

The charge against Bortz was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”