On May 11, 2023, Cameron Ty Bolyard, 35, of Greeneville, Tennessee, was sentenced to 600 months in federal prison, by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.
As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Bolyard pleaded guilty pursuant to a Federal Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea agreement to counts one and two of an indictment charging him with use of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251 (a) and (e) and being a parent of a minor, knowingly permitted such minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251 (b) and (e). Upon his release from prison, Bolyard will be on supervised release for 10 years. Bolyard will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions during his supervised release.
According to the written plea agreement filed with the court, investigators received multiple CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children where Bolyard uploaded multiple images and videos to his Google Account of child pornography. Multiple images and videos were created by Bolyard where he recorded a minor victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct with Bolyard. Additionally, Bolyard uploaded over a hundred videos and images of child sexual abuse material, unrelated to the minor victim, to his account.
“This 50-year prison sentence sends a clear message that preying upon and sexually victimizing the most innocent and vulnerable victims, our children, will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “We are grateful for the work of the Homeland Security Investigations- Johnson City Office and the Knoxville Police Department’s Internet Crimes against Children Group.”
“This significant sentence is a testament to the outstanding collaboration among HSI and our law enforcement partners, including the Knoxville Police Department, the Internet Crimes Against Children, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This investigation into Mr. Bolyard’s criminally abhorrent conduct is a prime example of our commitment to protect the most innocent and vulnerable population from exploitation by predators. No child should ever fall prey to victimization or endure its trauma,” stated HSI Nashville Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud.
“Our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is relentless in its mission to protect innocent kids and expose those who prey on children,” Knoxville Chief of Police Paul Noel said. “This sentence is a reflection of great collaboration with our state and federal partners, and the hard work and dedication of our ICAC investigators and digital forensics analysts. I am grateful to those who are willing to do the unimaginable investigative work necessary to hold these predators accountable for their actions.”
The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations- Johnson City Office and Knoxville Police Department’s Internet Crimes against Children Group. This investigation was led by TFO HSI John Williams.
Assistant United States Attorneys Meghan L. Gomez represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.”
