COLUMBUS — A Columbus man has been sentenced to nearly three decades in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexually exploiting a young child and possessing child sexual abuse material.
Andrew Wade Case, 39, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Upon his eventual release, Case will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
According to the federal indictment, the investigation began after Case forced a child under the age of 12 to engage in sexually explicit conduct in December 2024. He filmed the explicit acts, producing a four-minute video that he subsequently distributed online.
Alerts regarding the uploaded video were received by both the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Bloomington Police Department, indicating that Case had shared the file across a peer-to-peer network.
When law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Case’s residence, investigators discovered a child living in severely neglected conditions, including sleeping on an insect-covered floor and showing signs of untreated lice. A subsequent forensic analysis of Case’s cell phone revealed more than 600 additional images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent children, including infants and toddlers, as well as severe physical abuse.
Reporting Child Exploitation and Abuse
Federal and state law enforcement agencies rely heavily on tipsters and digital monitoring to combat online child exploitation.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC): Members of the public or victims seeking to report suspected child sexual abuse material or online solicitation can submit a report 24/7 at cybertipline.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
- Child Abuse Hotline: In Indiana, suspected child neglect or abuse can be reported anonymously to the Department of Child Services hotline at 1-800-800-5556.
