COVINGTON, Ky. – A Georgetown, Ky., man, Brent Comstock, 45, was sentenced on Wednesday to 30 years in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning for production of child pornography. According to his plea agreement, Comstock sexually abused a prepubescent minor with whom he had a quasi-familial relationship and created sexually explicit pictures/videos of the abuse. Law enforcement learned about the abuse when the victim’s mother discovered an image that had been inadvertently shared from Comstock’s Google account to another family member’s tablet. Law enforcement later executed a search warrant of Comstock’s residence, locating his cell phone and a tool bag containing children’s underwear in a safe in his bedroom. Law enforcement also located implements of sexual abuse that they would later observe in Comstock’s videos of the victim. A subsequent review of Comstock’s phone revealed at least 603 sexually explicit visual depictions of the victim. After his arrest, Comstock made several incriminating statements to his family members about his sexual abuse of the victim. The court record shows that Comstock requested a psychological evaluation for sanity and competency. Being deemed both sane and competent, Comstock attempted to claim diminished capacity at sentencing based on a diagnosis of “delusional disorder”—his delusion being that he was in a “romantic relationship” with a prepubescent minor. Psychologists with the Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, therefore provided significant assistance to Comstock’s prosecution. “One instance of child sexual abuse inflicts unspeakable harm to a child; protracted sexual abuse compounds that harm; and repeatedly capturing the child’s moments of sexual trauma exponentially increases the harm to the point of devastation,” said Jason Parman, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Apex predators deserve apex penalties to proportionally reflect the damage they have caused and to send a message to other would-be predators. While 30 years only minimally reflects the lifelong impact on this young victim, it will allow her to feel safe from her abuser well into her adulthood, protect the general public, and send a deterrent message.” Jason Parman, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Chief Darin Allgood, Georgetown Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.The investigation was conducted by FBI and Georgetown Police Department. Collaboration from Kelli Kearney, Commonwealth Attorney for Kentucky’s Fourteenth Judicial District, facilitated the federal adoption of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Melton prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. – END –
Source: U.S. Department of Justice