The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Kenneth C. Bishop, 38, of Alburgh, Vermont appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle after his indictment and arrest for possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM).  Bishop was ordered temporarily detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

According to court records, on September 29, 2022, Bishop’s cellphone was confiscated after he violated the conditions of his furlough from the custody of the Vermont Department of Corrections.  A search of that cellphone subsequently revealed that Bishop had saved CSAM videos and images in an encrypted vault application on the cellphone.   

The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an indictment contains allegations only and that Bishop remains presumed innocent until and unless he is convicted of a crime.  Bishop 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 the detectives of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office’s Criminal Division, agents of Homeland Security Investigations, and members of the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.  

The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt.  Bishop is represented by Jordana Levine, Esq. 

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 .

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