Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Tyler Russell Kuhn (29, Port Charlotte) with one count of production and one count of distribution of child sexual abuse material. If convicted on all counts, Kuhn faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in federal prison.
According to the indictment and court records, in October 2019, Kuhn engaged in an online conversation with another individual. During the conversation, Kuhn produced a video and image of child sexual abuse material involving himself and a toddler. Kuhn distributed this video and image over the internet, to the individual to whom he was speaking.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Tampa and Houston Field Offices. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.justice.gov/psc.