COLUMBUS, OHIO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Ohio, Southern), published as received.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Lancaster man was sentenced in federal court today to 80 months in prison for receiving child pornography.
Carson A. Bigham, 24, was originally arrested on federal charges in May 2025. Bigham was charged in a bill of information filed in January 2026 with receipt of child pornography.
According to court documents, law enforcement received two separate Cybertips from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) related to a Columbus man who was charged with federal child pornography crimes in March 2025, including exploitation of a minor.
As part of their investigation, devices were seized from the Columbus man. Law enforcement’s forensic review of the devices revealed conversations between the Columbus man and Bigham. The conversations between the two men were sexual in nature and included discussions about engaging in sex with minors. Between August 2024 and May 2025, Bigham received child pornography during these discussions, including files that depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sex acts with adults. He also solicited the Columbus man for images of a fictitious female minor Bigham believed existed.
Law enforcement officers learned that Bigham was at the time employed as a Columbus firefighter and photographs of Bigham match those sent to the Columbus man during their conversations.
Bigham pleaded guilty in February.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin; other members of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force; and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Columbus Airport Group and Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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