Burlington Resident Arrested for Sexual Exploitation of Children

The Attorney General's Office today announced that Brodie Carstairs, 32, of Burlington, Vermont, was arraigned on 14 felony counts of online promotion of child sexual abuse materials, two counts of attempted use of a child in a sexual performance, three counts of felony possession of child sexual abuse materials, and one count of inciting to felony. The charges brought against Mr. Carstairs are the result of a criminal investigation, including the execution of search warrants conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), which included personnel from the Attorney General's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Burlington Police Department.

This investigation was initiated when VT-ICAC received CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The tips were reported by Kik, a smartphone messenger application, after an individual uploaded images of child sexual abuse materials from an electronic device onto its servers to send and promote those images to various individuals. Based on the criminal investigation of the tips, Mr. Carstairs was identified as the owner of the Kik accounts that uploaded the images. Law enforcement personnel executed a search warrant on Mr. Carstairs' residence, which revealed that Mr. Carstairs was actively in possession of child sexual abuse materials.

Mr. Carstairs pleaded not guilty at his arraignment today in Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Timothy Doherty presiding, ordered bail in the amount of $50,000 and conditions of release which restrict Mr. Carstairs' access to minors, electronic devices, and the internet, and place him under a 24-hour curfew.

VT-ICAC investigates cases of child sexual exploitation occurring over the internet, including the production and online distribution of child sexual abuse materials. VT-ICAC also provides forensic examination services, technical assistance, law enforcement training, and public education and outreach.

Every child deserves a safe childhood. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is the nation's centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. Anyone can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual molestation, child sexual abuse material, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet. To make a report, call the 24-hour call center at 1-800-843-5678 or visit https://report.cybertip.org .

Additionally, if you are recovering from child sexual exploitation, you do not have to navigate it alone. NCMEC can help with emotional and peer support, removing content from the internet, and locating mental health professionals. For more information, please visit https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/csam-resources or call the 24-hour call center at 1-800-843-5678.

The Attorney General's Office emphasizes that individuals charged with a crime are legally presumed innocent until their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, 802-828-3171