Colorado Woman Sentenced To 36 Years for Creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material

DENVER - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announces that Charlyna Butterworth, 29, of Aurora, was sentenced to 36 years in prison followed by supervised release for life after pleading guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.

According to the plea agreement, Butterworth repeatedly sexually abused three minors who were all under the age of five while they were entrusted to her care and created child sexual exploitation material of the abuse.

"This is a serious sentence for a serious crime," said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. "I am grateful that this individual is no longer in a position to harm another child."

United States District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher presided over the sentencing.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Denver Field Office handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alecia L. Riewerts handled the prosecution.

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 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, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.