Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Justin Ryan Culmo (40, Oldsmar) has pleaded guilty to three counts of production of child sexual abuse material, one count of distribution of child sexual abuse material, one count of possession of child sexual abuse material, and one count of production of child sexual abuse material that is an adapted or modified depiction of a minor. Culmo faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Culmo produced child sexual abuse imagery involving children as young as infants and toddlers, and produced thousands of images of child sexual abuse using generative artificial intelligence (AI). Culmo possessed approximately 85,00 images of child sexual abuse material, 845 videos of child sexual abuse material, and 8,500 AI-generated images of child sexual abuses.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Abigail K. King.
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.