Appleton woman sentenced to 20 Years for production of child pornography

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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 Senior United States District 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 an individual in Texas whom she had met in an online fetish forum. The recipient of the child pornography has been arrested and has charges pending 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 intended sexual abuse of children.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Griesbach noted that Belgum’s crime was “of great magnitude and despicable” in nature. Judge Griesbach also emphasized the profound impact of the crime on Belgum’s victims. Upon the completion of her twenty-year federal prison sentence, Belgum will spend the remainder of her life on supervised release. She will also have to register as a sex offender under state and federal law.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals 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 the assistance of the Department of Homeland Security’s Milwaukee and San Antonio Field Offices. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.