Appleton woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for child pornography

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on June 3, 2024, Charlotta A. Belgum (age: 38) of Appleton, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by the Upper District of the United States. Judge William C. Griesbach.

According to court records, Belgum created child pornography using a minor child and distributed the child pornography via the Internet to a person in Texas whom she had met on an online fetish forum. The recipient of the child pornography has been arrested and charged in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Court records further indicate that Belgum also distributed other images of child pornography and engaged in lengthy online conversations centered around the intentional sexual abuse of children.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Griesbach emphasized that the crime committed by Belgum was “far-reaching and despicable” in nature. Judge Griesbach also highlighted the profound impact of the crime on Belgian victims. At the end of his twenty-year federal prison sentence, Belgum will spend the rest of his life on supervised release. She will also have to register as a sex offender under state and federal laws.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood brings together federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. .

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Appleton Police Department, with assistance from the Milwaukee and San Antonio field offices of the Department of Homeland Security. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.