Guilford Man Sentenced For Coercing, Threatening Kids To Produce Sexual Images

GUILFORD, CT — A Guilford man was sentenced Thursday to 26 years in prison for coercing and threatening children to produce sexually explicit material, according to a news release from Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Christopher Michaelson, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford. Following his prison sentence, Michaelson will be on 20 years of supervised release, Avery said.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on Jan. 9, 2019, the Guilford Police Department assisted Burrillville (R.I.) police with the arrest of Michaelson at his home in Guilford on Rhode Island state charges for child molestation, solicitation, and enticement, Avery said in a news release.

During the arrest, officers seized Michaelson’s cell phone. A court-authorized search of the device found thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, primarily boys between the ages of 5 and 15, Avery said.

There were also communications between Michaelson and minor victims whom he coerced, and often verbally abused and threatened, to send sexually explicit images of themselves to him, Avery added, noting Michaelson shared some of these images with others.

Michaelson has been detained since his arrest. On March 16, 2023, he pleaded guilty to production of child pornography.

The Rhode Island state charges against Michaelson are pending.

The prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, click here.

To report cases of child exploitation, visit the cyber tip line.