Joshua Courtney, Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Possession of Child Pornography, Kansas 2022

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Joshua Courtney, 35, of Bonner Springs, Kansas, will spend the next 27 years behind bars after being sentenced for horrific crimes against a child. The sentence, handed down this week, stems from Courtney’s admitted exploitation of a 10-year-old victim and his widespread possession of sickening child pornography.

Courtney pleaded guilty in September 2022 to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and four counts of possession of child pornography. The case unraveled after cyber tips flagged disturbing content linked to Courtney’s online activity. Agents with the U.S. Secret Service, working in conjunction with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), discovered dozens of pornographic images stored in Courtney’s Google Photos account.

The investigation revealed a depraved pattern of abuse. Courtney confessed to taking nude photos of the young victim, filming sexual acts, and distributing these materials to others. He also admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography depicting other children on his cell phone – a digital archive of unimaginable suffering.

“This isn’t just about images on a phone or computer,” stated Assistant U.S. Attorney Faiza Alhambra, who prosecuted the case. “This is about a vulnerable child who was deeply harmed, and a predator who actively sought out and created abusive material. The length of the sentence reflects the severity of the crimes and the lasting trauma inflicted on the victim.”

The case was brought under the umbrella of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice. The program aims to aggressively combat the escalating epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse by pooling federal, state, and local resources. The U.S. Attorney’s Office led the charge, focusing on both prosecution and victim rescue.

This conviction serves as a stark reminder of the dark underbelly of the internet and the ongoing need for vigilance. Authorities urge anyone with information regarding child exploitation to immediately contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or their local law enforcement agency. Resources and internet safety education are available at https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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