Exeter Man Sentenced For Possessing 2,000 Images Of Child Pornography

Wednesday, November 27, 2024, 11:00 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

CONCORD, NH.- Last Tuesday, a 41-year-old Exeter, New Hampshire, man will be spending the next four years in federal prison for possessing digital images and video files depicting the horrific sexual abuse of prepubescent children.

     On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, Nathan Kohler, 41, of Exeter, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante to 48 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release on his previously entered guilty plea. During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Laplante also ordered Kohler to pay $21,000 in restitution to his identified victims. 

     After being initially charged in April 2023, Kohler appeared in U.S. Federal District Court in Concord, New Hampshire, and pleaded guilty to one count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material.

     “The actions of the defendant fuel the demand for the horrific sexual abuse of children and results in life-long suffering for those victims,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “Those who would seek out on the internet these images documenting the pain and abuse of a child are on notice. They will be found, prosecuted, and incarcerated.”

According To Charging Information

     According to charging documents filed with the court, on January 2, 2023, and again on February 14, 2023, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force’s BitTorrent software identified a target IP address producing child sexual abuse material available for download through a peer-to-peer file sharing network, BitTorrent. Further investigation identified Kohler’s residence in Exeter, New Hampshire, as the subscriber.

     On April 5, 2023, federal and state investigators obtained and executed a court-authorized search warrant at Kohler’s home. During the search, investigators seized a Dell laptop computer from Kohler’s bedroom. A subsequent examination by investigators uncovered around 2,000 digital images and two video files containing the sexual exploitation and abuse of children.

     Numerous digital images depicted prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including some that contained sadistic or masochistic conduct.

     During questioning by investigators, Kohler admitted that he was the individual who was using the internet in the residence to download child pornography and had been engaged in such activity for some years. Kohler further told investigators that he used the computer found in his bedroom to access child pornography.

     The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.