Ohio woman sentenced to 15 years in prison for production and distribution of child sexual abuse material

A woman from Port Clinton, Ohio, was sentenced today to 15 years in jail for creating and distributing child sexual abuse material.

Ashley Kolhoff, 22, allegedly created sexually explicit photographs of the minor victim in 2020 and submitted them to a website dedicated to assisting child abuse. Kolhoff disseminated the victim’s photographs to nine other members of the website over the period of many days, while engaging in a series of explicit talks about the users’ desire to sexually assault the victim.

After being sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Raymond Villanueva of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Whitney Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Schlessinger for the Eastern District of Virginia.

This case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a countrywide effort established by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to tackle the scourge of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood, led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and CEOS, marshals federal, state, and local resources to better discover, capture, and prosecute persons who exploit children via the internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.

To learn more about Project Safe Childhood, go to www.justice.gov/psc.