Houston-area man gets decades in federal prison for sexually abusing girl, sharing images

A Houston-area man will spend 40 years in federal prison for producing and distributing child pornography, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Adam Michael Ohlsen, 44, of Porter, pleaded guilty May 5, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar S. Hamdani said in a news release Thursday. Porter is 30 miles north of Houston.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Eskridge sentenced Ohlsen to serve 23 years and four months for the production conviction and 16 years and eight months for the distribution conviction, the news release said.

The sentences will run consecutively for a total 40-year sentence.

The judge said restitution to the victim will be determined at a later date.

During the sentencing hearing, the court was told of the terrible impact the sexual abuse by Ohlsen had on the young victim. The judge heard how the dissemination of the child pornography images showing her being sexually abused has caused her ongoing harm.

Ohlsen also was ordered to remain on supervised release for the remainder of his life after he leaves prison. He will have to comply with requirements restricting his access to children and the internet and must register as a sex offender.

The investigation began after law enforcement found Ohlsen was distributing child pornography in 2022 through a Russian image hosting website, authorities said.

Before executing a search warrant at his home, law enforcement found evidence he had sexually abused the girl and had shared images of the abuse on an image sharing platform, the news release said. He confessed to the abuse and distribution.

He will stay in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with help from the Queensland Police Service in Australia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Lu prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to fight child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads the project, which unites federal, state and local resources to prosecute criminals who sexually exploit children. It also identifies and rescues victims.