SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced Bret Allan Nichols, 32, of Paradise, today to 30 years in prison for production of child pornography to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. The 30-year sentence is the maximum punishment allowed by the statute.
On June 18, 2015, Nichols pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. According to court documents, on December 12, 2012, law enforcement in the United States received a referral from the Danish National Police related to a video containing child pornography. Further investigation revealed that the video was made by a Florida couple running a business that used a computer to stream illicit sexual sessions at the request of customers. In August 2012, Nichols paid the Florida couple to produce child pornography and recorded it. A forensic search of Nichols’ computer seized during the subsequent search of his residence found multiple videos that Nichols had recorded of five additional child victims in Colombia and the Philippines.
The Florida couple were prosecuted in the Northern District of Florida and received sentences of 29.5 and 35 years in prison.
“Nichols committed horrendous crimes against multiple children, and the substantial sentence that the court imposed today reflects the seriousness of his crimes,” stated U.S. Attorney Talbert. “Every child deserves a childhood safe from abuse like this. Our office is committed to protecting society, and particularly children, by prosecuting cases like this.”
This case was the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney William Wong prosecuted the case.
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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.