United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Kentucky
07/21/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/21/2026 16:34
Louisville Man Sentenced to 75 Years in Federal Prison for 9 Federal Child Exploitation Charges
Louisville, KY - A Jefferson County man was sentenced today to 75 years in federal prison after being convicted in March, following a week-long jury trial, of three counts of sexual exploitation of children, two counts of receipt of child pornography, two counts of distribution of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of commission of a felony against a child by a person required to register as a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office, and Chief Paul L. Humphrey of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.
Quinnton Dawson, 35, was sentenced to 75 years in federal prison followed by a life term on supervised release. The Court ordered Dawson to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victim.
In January of 2022, Dawson was convicted in Jefferson Circuit Court of 25 counts of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, one count of distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, and one count distribution of sexually explicit images without consent-first offense pursuant to indictment number 20-CR-002017. Dawson was sentenced to five years in prison but was granted shock probation in May 2022.
While released on shock probation, Dawson used his Yahoo email account to send and receive images and videos of child sexual abuse material on July 13 and 15, 2022. In August 2022, using the images and videos he traded on the internet as motivation, inspiration, and a script, Dawson engaged in the production of child pornography when he used an electronic storage device to record himself engaging in sexual acts with a 4-year-old child.
United States Attorney Kyle Bumgarner stated, "Nothing can restore the innocence that Dawson stole from these young child victims with his depraved conduct. Fortunately, these victims will never have to worry about being harmed by Dawson again because he will now serve out his remaining days behind bars at a federal prison. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our local and federal law enforcement partners, our Office will continue to seek justice for vulnerable victims and hold child predators to full account under federal law."
Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson stated, "This sentence is a reflection of the FBI's commitment and dedication to protecting our nation's children and to holding accountable those who choose to exploit their vulnerability. We know that we cannot get back the innocence lost, but we hope some semblance of peace is gained knowing Quinnton Dawson will never experience freedom again. Rest assured, FBI Louisville is working hard every single day, alongside our law enforcement partners, to remove child predators from our communities."
Chief Paul H. Humphrey stated, "No punishment can undo the harm inflicted on a child, but this sentence ensures a dangerous offender will spend the rest of his life where he belongs: behind bars and off the streets of our community. I want to commend our detectives and federal partners whose relentless work helped bring this case to justice. We will continue working together to aggressively pursue anyone who exploits children."
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the LMPD.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danielle M. Yannelli prosecuted the case with the assistance of paralegal Carissa Moss.
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.
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United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Kentucky published this content on July 21, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 21, 2026 at 22:34 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]