The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Glen Buehler, 67, of Vernon, Vermont, is scheduled to appear this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle after his arrest for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM).

According to court records, on February 2, 2023, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire Police Detective was conducting an online investigation of the BitTorrent network, looking for individuals sharing CSAM. A BitTorrent user was identified as sharing likely CSAM files, and a download of some of those files occurred the evening of February 2, 2023. After the source of the files was determined to likely be in Vermont, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force coordinated with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Derby, Vermont. HSI’s investigation revealed the source of the files downloaded from BitTorrent to likely be Buehler’s residence in Vernon, Vermont. A federal search warrant was executed on April 3, 2023, resulting in the seizure of a number of electronic devices. A preliminary forensic examination by HSI revealed that a Motorola cellphone contained multiple files of suspected CSAM. On April 7, 2023, Buehler was charged by criminal complaint. Buehler self-surrendered to law enforcement this morning.

The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that a criminal complaint contains allegations only and that Buehler remains presumed innocent until and unless he is convicted of a crime. Buehler faces a maximum sentence of 10 years of imprisonment. The actual sentence would be determined with reference to the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of agents of Homeland Security Investigations, the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Police Department, the New Hampshire ICAC, the Vermont ICAC, and the detectives of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office’s Criminal Division. He also thanked the Vermont State Police and Brattleboro Police Department for their assistance.  The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt. Buehler is represented by the Office of the Federal Public Defender.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and Child Exploitation Obscenity Section, Criminal Division (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Original source can be found here.