Austin Ryan Lauless, 31, was sentenced to 84 years in federal prison and lifetime supervised release for operating an extensive online child-exploitation operation. He pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges, including sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors. Investigators identified at least 84 victims, ages 13–17, across nearly every U.S. state and at least five foreign countries; Lauless used hacked accounts, voice modulation, gifts and threats to coerce victims and sold material through multiple online platforms.
Colorado Man Sentenced To 84 Years For Running Nationwide Online Child-Exploitation Ring
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A federal judge has sentenced Austin Ryan Lauless, 31, to 84 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, after he was convicted of operating a large online child-exploitation network that targeted minors across the United States and abroad, the Department of Justice said in a Dec. 17 release.
Case Overview
Lauless pleaded guilty in September to multiple federal charges tied to the online sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. According to the DOJ, the offenses included numerous counts of sexual exploitation of a child, sex trafficking of minors, and charges related to advertising and possessing child sexual abuse material.
How He Operated
From late 2019 through May 2023, prosecutors say Lauless used social platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Yubo and Purp to groom, coerce and threaten victims. He posed as a teenage persona—often using the alias "Cason Frederickson" and sometimes claiming to be a teen from New York or other major cities—by stealing photos from a hacked Instagram account identified in court documents as belonging to "Individual A." Lauless then used voice modulators and recorded content presented as live to deceive teenagers into trusting him.
Investigators say he cultivated romantic relationships with victims, purchased gifts (including sex toys, fishnet stockings and customized T-shirts) and pressured them to produce sexually explicit images and videos. To maintain control he threatened to publish their images if they did not comply or sought help.
Trafficking, Distribution And Scope
Prosecutors allege that at least 84 victims—all between the ages of 13 and 17 at the time—have been identified in nearly every U.S. state and in at least five foreign countries. The DOJ also says Lauless trafficked five minor victims by forcing them to have sex with adult men while he recorded the encounters; some victims were subjected to sadomasochistic abuse at his direction.
After obtaining material, Lauless is accused of advertising and selling it through services such as Discord, Instagram, Telegram and MEGA, completing at least 141 financial transactions via Venmo, PayPal, Bitcoin and CashApp. Lauless admitted that his collection included thousands of images and videos, including content showing prepubescent children and material depicting extreme abuse and bestiality.
"The sheer scale of this investigation and prosecution underscores the relentless commitment of federal law enforcement to dismantle networks of exploitation that prey on our children," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Childress. "Austin Lauless orchestrated a campaign of abuse that spanned nearly every state and multiple countries, leaving behind profound harm."
Investigation And Next Steps
The FBI led the investigation with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The sentence was imposed in the Southern District of Indiana by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker. Authorities warn that additional victims may still be unidentified and urged anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Lauless or his aliases to contact the FBI.
