Press Release from United States Attorney, District of Connecticut; U.S. Department of Justice

On April 4, Christopher Michaelson, 39, of Guilford, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 312 months of imprisonment, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for coercing and threatening minors to send him sexually explicit images of themselves. Michaelson’s sentencing was announced by Vanessa Roberts Avery, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on Jan. 9, 2019, the Guilford Police Department (GPD) assisted the Burrillville Police Department in Rhode Island with the arrest of Michaelson at his residence in Guilford on Rhode Island state charges for child molestation, solicitation, and enticement. During the arrest, officers seized Michaelson’s cell phone. A court-authorized search of the seized phone revealed thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, primarily boys between the ages of 5 and 15, as well as communications between Michaelson and minor victims whom he coerced—and often verbally abused and threatened—to send sexually explicit images of themselves to him. Michaelson shared some of these images with others.

Michaelson has been detained since his arrest. On March 16, 2023, he pleaded guilty to production of child pornography.

The Rhode Island state charges against Michaelson are pending.

This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, the GPD, and the Burrillville Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and Nancy V. Gifford.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.