A Casper man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for making, uploading and possessing child pornography.
Liam Van Damme, 21, was sentenced this week to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised released in U.S. District Court. He was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment fee and may be ordered to pay restitution through a separate court order.
Van Damme came to the attention of law enforcement after he uploaded child pornography while using Google and Flickr accounts.
A probe conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation showed Van Damme had images of children as young as toddlers being violently sexually abused. He also recorded a young child he had access to while the child was being changed, editing the video to focus on the child’s genitalia.
“The sexual exploitation of innocent children has to be the most heinous crime imaginable,” said Acting United State Attorney Bob Murray. “Predators like Van Damme create a demand that only leads to more kids being abused. It must stop. We will investigate, prosecute, and lock up anyone in possession of child pornography so we can put an end to this disgusting practice.”
This case was pursued as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
