HARTFORD, Conn. – A Connecticut man arrested in 2019 over the alleged sexual assault of a Burrillville boy has been sentenced to 312 months of imprisonment, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for coercing and threatening minors to send him sexually explicit images of themselves.
Christopher Michaelson, 39, of Guilford, Conn. was sentenced on Thursday, April 4 by U.S. District Judge Michael Shea in Hartford, Conn. for coercing and threatening minors to send him sexually explicit images of themselves,
Michaelson was arrested by Burrillville police in January of 2019 on charges of first-degree child molestation, second-degree child molestation, enticement of a minor in the first degree and indecent solicitation of a child. The assault reportedly stemmed from an internet contact followed by an in person meeting in Burrillville.
Burrillville police reached out to Guilford police for assistance in the case, and a court-authorized search of Michaelson’s phone reportedly revealed thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, primarily boys between the ages of five and 15, and communications between Michaelson and minor victims who he coerced, and often verbally abused and threatened, to send sexually explicit images of themselves to him, according to a release on the sentencing from the U.St. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Michaelson shared some of these images with others, according to prosecutors.
The cell phone discovery resulted in the charges in Connecticut and this week’s sentencing. The Rhode Island state charges against him are still pending.
Michaelson has been detained since his arrest and in 2023, he pleaded guilty to production of child pornography.
