A Kentucky man will spend nearly three decades in prison after admitting to creating sexually explicit images of young girls along with cartoons of child sex abuse, prosecutors said.

Tyler Brady Lawson, 27, of Georgetown, Kentucky, was sentenced on Wednesday, by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, to 28 years in prison, for production of child pornography.

According to his plea agreement, Lawson was the long-term boyfriend of a woman who had close connections to two young girls, Victim 1 and Victim 2.

Through these connections, the young girls frequently visited the residences where Lawson and his girlfriend lived. In March 2023, law enforcement became aware of a disclosure to a therapist for one of the girls.

The resulting investigation revealed that Lawson produced and possessed sexually explicit images of the girls, as well as cartoon and computer-generated images of the sexual abuse of children. In pleading guilty, Lawson admitted that he knowingly captured visual depictions of one of the girls and that he intended to create depictions of sexually explicit conduct.

Under federal law, Lawson must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for life.

“This case demonstrates what many in law enforcement know: consumption and production of child pornography often exists side-by-side with physical child sexual abuse,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “This correlation is one of many reasons why enforcement in this area is so critically important. The defendant’s conduct was egregious and appalling, and it certainly warrants the punishment he received. To those who are engaging in the production of child sexual abuse material, this case should serve as a warning that such conduct gives rise to substantial prison sentences.”

United States Attorney Shier; Michael E. Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Chief Darin Allgood, Georgetown Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Georgetown Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Melton is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.