INDIANAPOLIS — A Mitchell, Indiana, man has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to felony charges related to the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple children.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt imposed the sentence on Bryan Lee Fish, 33, who pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material. Following his release, Fish will also be subject to a lifetime of supervised release.
According to documents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the abuse occurred between June 2022 and September 2023. Fish sexually abused three young children, all under the age of 12, including a toddler. The victims were all related to Fish and were entrusted to his custody and care at the time.
In addition to the abuse, Fish photographed the crimes and distributed the images online.
The investigation was initiated on September 29, 2023, after the Indiana State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received alerts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The alerts indicated that an account linked to Fish was sharing newly produced child sexual abuse material.
A subsequent search of Fish’s residence uncovered two cell phones containing:
- Folders labeled with the names of the victims.
- Explicit images of the children.
- More than 3,000 additional files of child sexual abuse material involving other unidentified minors, including infants and toddlers, as well as CGI and Anime.
Following Fish’s arrest, another relative came forward and disclosed that Fish had also sexually abused her as a child, beginning when she was five years old.
Federal law enforcement emphasized that the sentence reflects the severity of the offenses and the damage caused by distributing child sexual abuse material.
“This predator not only exploited three young children entrusted to his care, but he also preserved and shared that abuse,” said United States Attorney Tom Wheeler. “Distributing these images is especially insidious because it fuels further exploitation, encourages other offenders to create more material through abuse, and ensures the victims are haunted by the knowledge that their worst experiences live on indefinitely for predators’ gratification.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, Indiana State Police ICAC Task Force, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, and Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office, and was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative.
