MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Robert Tlusty, 28, Poynette, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James Peterson to 15 years in federal prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for receiving child pornography. Tlusty pleaded guilty to this charge on September 5, 2014.

The investigation began on February 27, 2014, when an FBI undercover agent downloaded five videos of child pornography from Tlusty using a file-sharing network. In a separate undercover investigation, a Wisconsin Department of Justice undercover agent also downloaded a video of child pornography from the defendant using a file-sharing network on March 2, 2014.

After a search warrant was obtained, Tlusty’s computer was seized and a forensic analysis was performed, which revealed additional images and videos of child pornography. In sentencing the defendant, the court considered the type of images Tlusty sought out and received, his distribution of images through file-sharing, and the physical molestation by the defendant of minors discovered during the course of the investigation.

The charge against Tlusty was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Poynette Police Department, Dane County Sheriff’s Department, and Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger.