Stoughton Man Sentenced to More Than 7 Years for Distribution of Child Pornography

MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Joshua Hole, 29, Stoughton, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 87 months in federal prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for distributing child pornography. Hole pleaded guilty to this charge on April 20, 2026.

In 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip that Hole was using an instant messaging application to trade child pornography. Hole was interviewed by law enforcement, and while several images of child pornography were found on his phone, he was not ultimately charged.

In March 2025, Toledo, Ohio, police arrested an individual after he traveled to the area to sexually abuse what he believed to be, a 7-year-old girl and a 6-month-old infant. An examination of the individual's phone showed he had been chatting with and sharing child pornography with Hole via Telegram Messenger. Specifically, law enforcement found exchanges from March 24, 2025, where Hole and the individual exchanged images and videos of toddlers and infants being sexually abused, as well as chats where Hole encouraged the individual to travel to sexually abuse an infant. Hole was charged with distribution of child pornography, based on this conduct, on November 19, 2025.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Peterson noted that Hole had not redirected his life after his 2019 contact with law enforcement, which demonstrated Hole's powerful compulsion for child pornography. Judge Peterson further explained that the nature of the images, and the violent and sadistic chats between the defendant and other pedophiles, were aggravating factors at sentencing. Finally, Judge Peterson stressed that Hole's conduct was a vivid illustration of how consumers of child pornography put real children at risk.

"Protecting the most vulnerable in our communities is more than just a legal responsibility, it is a moral imperative," said U.S. Attorney Elgersma. "Anyone who preys on or endangers our children will be held accountable for their crimes."

The charge against Hole was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Stoughton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger prosecuted this case.

This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.