MADISON, WIS. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Wisconsin, Western), published as received.

MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Adam J. Westbrook, 35, Neenah, Wisconsin, was sentenced last week by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 10 years in prison for distributing child pornography. The prison term will be followed by 20 years of supervised release. Westbrook pleaded guilty to this charge on September 16, 2024.

In early February 2024, law enforcement arrested a man in Kenosha County, Wisconsin for various sex crimes. They searched his phone and found several videos showing a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Evidence showed that Westbrook had sent the videos to the Kenosha County man.

Before sentencing, Judge Peterson reviewed a letter submitted by Westbrook. He found that Westbrook’s letter and statements at sentencing contained a mix of self-reflection and self-deception. Judge Peterson explained that while Westbrook demonstrated an acute awareness of the risk he posed, his self-deception made him an enormous risk to public safety. 

Between his plea and Friday’s sentencing, Westbrook also attempted to withdraw his plea and filed a motion challenging the legality of the indictment. Judge Peterson found Westbrook’s actions inconsistent with accepting responsibility for his crime, which Judge Peterson concluded made Westbrook more dangerous.

The charge against Westbrook was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office, and the Neenah and Lake Delton Police Departments, with assistance from the UK National Crime Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis Glinzak and Elizabeth Altman prosecuted this case.

This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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