Brandon Dolly, a 23-year-old resident of Akron, Ohio, was sentenced on July 24 to 151 months in federal prison for receiving, distributing, and possessing materials depicting the sexual abuse of children. U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko handed down the sentence after Dolly pleaded guilty in March to charges including Receipt and Distribution of Visual Depictions of Real Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct and Possession of Child Pornography.
Dolly will also serve ten years of supervised release following his imprisonment and is required to register as a sex offender. The court ordered him to pay $46,500 in restitution to victims and $15,200 in special assessments.
According to court documents, FBI agents began investigating several social media accounts suspected of trading child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in January 2025. Dolly was identified during this investigation. A search warrant executed at his Akron residence led authorities to seize several electronic devices. Forensic examination revealed that Dolly’s devices contained approximately 29,788 images depicting child sexual abuse and that he had been actively receiving and distributing such material from about October 2023 through March 2025.
The case was investigated by the FBI Akron Resident Agency along with the Akron Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph P. Dangelo prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices aimed at combating child exploitation online and identifying victims for rescue efforts.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio is responsible for enforcing federal criminal laws related to national security and public corruption while defending the United States in civil suits; it covers forty northern counties within Ohio and collaborates with schools as well as law enforcement agencies across its district, according to the official website.