Burlington, Vermont Man Sentenced to 15 Years of Imprisonment for Child Exploitation Offenses

Rutland, Vermont - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont stated that on March 27, 2026, Brendan Sullivan, 29, of Burlington, Vermont, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier to a 15- year term of imprisonment to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, and ordered to pay $20,000 of restitution to victims of his offenses. Sullivan previously pleaded guilty to using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice a child and possession of child sexual abuse materials.

According to court records, Sullivan was previously convicted in federal court for possession of child sexual abuse materials, and received a time served sentence in 2020. Sullivan had numerous violations of his post-release supervision, ultimately leading to a revocation of his supervised release and an additional 9 months of imprisonment. Sullivan was released from the Bureau of Prisons on December 3, 2024. On December 12, 2024, Sullivan uploaded child sexual abuse materials to a website, in hopes of finding and viewing similar materials. This upload triggered a CyberTip, which was routed to the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, who began an investigation. On June 24, 2025, a search warrant was executed at Sullivan's residence, and investigators seized Sullivan's laptop. A forensic review of the laptop revealed over 2,600 unique images and 131 unique videos of child sexual abuse. The examination also revealed a messaging thread between Sullivan and a person who claimed to be a 13-year-old child. During the messaging, Sullivan proposed meeting up with the boy, offered the boy marijuana, provided detailed descriptions of sexual fantasies to the boy, provided the boy images of Sullivan's genitalia, and attempted to arrange an in-person meeting. Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations attempted to locate the 13-year-old boy, and discovered that the messaging was instead sent by a 17-year-old minor in California, who was mimicking "catch a predator" social media posts.

First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the collaborative investigatory efforts of the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations. "State and local law enforcement are crucial partners in our efforts to protect children. I am extremely grateful for their assistance in this case."

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne M. Smith and First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt. Sullivan was represented by Brooks McArthur, 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 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 Justice.gov/PSC.