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A Colorado man faces more than 80 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in Indiana’s Southern District Court to committing multiple sex crimes against children.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker sentenced Austin Ryan Lauless, 31, of Colorado, to 84 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
In September 2025, Lauless pleaded guilty to 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, five counts of sex trafficking of a minor, two counts of advertising child sexual abuse material and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material.
As of Dec. 17, 2025, 84 victims of Lauless have been identified from nearly every state in the United States and at least five foreign countries, authorities said. Investigators believe additional victims may still be unidentified.
According to court documents, between late 2019 and May 19, 2023, Lauless used social media applications such as Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Yubo, Purp, and others to coerce, exploit, and threaten at least 84 minor victims into producing thousands of sexually explicit images and videos. The victims ranged in age from 13 to 17 at the time of the offenses.
Using these social media platforms, Lauless misrepresented his identity, posing as “Cason Fredrickson,” a teenager from New York or other cities.
In reality, Lauless was in his late 20s, unemployed, and living in hotels and motels in Texas and Colorado. To conceal his identity, he accessed the public Instagram page of Individual A and, without their knowledge or consent, saved images and videos to impersonate Individual A while posing as “Cason Fredrickson.”
Lauless’ criminal methods included misrepresenting his age, identity, background, and likeness to groom minors and create a false sense of safety in online communications, according to authorities. He also used voice modulators and third-party image and video applications to edit content, making it appear as though it was recorded live through social media platforms such as Snapchat.
He feigned romantic interest in victims, told them they were attractive, and pretended to be in online relationships. He purchased items for many victims through Amazon—including fishnet stockings, sexual devices, and customized t-shirts—which he instructed them to wear while producing sexually explicit material, according to court documents. These items were shipped either directly to victims or to designated Amazon lockers for pickup.
To prolong his exploitation and avoid detection, Lauless threatened victims with dissemination of their images and videos if they failed to comply with his demands or sought help from parents or law enforcement. At least one victim reported to Lauless that she was contemplating suicide.
Lauless also sex trafficked at least five minor victims by forcing them to engage in sexual acts with adult males, producing numerous videos of these commercial sex acts. Some victims were forced to endure sadomasochistic abuse at his direction.
Once he obtained images and videos, Lauless advertised and sold the sexually explicit material on platforms such as Discord, Instagram, Telegram, and MEGA, authorities said. He engaged in at least 141 transactions, receiving payment through Venmo, PayPal, Bitcoin, and CashApp. He admitted that his collection of child sexual abuse material included thousands of images and videos depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, as well as children subjected to bestiality and sadomasochistic abuse.
“The sheer scale of this investigation and prosecution underscores the relentless commitment of federal law enforcement to dismantle networks of exploitation that prey on our children,” John Childress, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a news release. ” Austin Lauless orchestrated a campaign of abuse that spanned nearly every state and multiple countries, leaving behind profound harm.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation, with additional support from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Additionally, 13 U.S. Attorney’s Offices provided cooperation during the investigation.
The FBI is asking that if anyone or someone they know has been a victim of Lauless to contact a local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
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