Date: 06-21-2024

Case Style:

United States of America v. Joseph Grant Flamion

Case Number: 4:23-cr-00001

Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt

Court: The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (Marion County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Indianapolis, Indiana criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Secretly Recording Minor Victim in Shower and Dressing Areas
Jeffersonville Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Secretly Recording Minor Victim in Shower and Dressing Areas

In 2021 and 2022, Joseph Grant Flamion, 47, of Jeffersonville, secretly used electronic devices to record or to attempt to record a child victim in places where Flamion knew the child would be undressing or nude. Flamion placed a hidden camera in the child’s bathroom and bedroom and routinely held a cell phone camera or another device under the doors to record the child fully nude or undressing. Flamion had custody, care, or supervisory control of the child, who was 13 and 14 years old when Flamion made the recordings.

In October of 2021, Flamion brought a hidden camera with him when he took the child to Florida for a vacation. Flamion placed the hidden camera in the bathroom of the hotel and recorded the child when the child was showering.

The minor victim and a witness became aware that Flamion was attempting to create nude recordings of the victim and disclosed his conduct to the Indiana Department of Child Services. The Department of Child Services notified Flamion of what it had learned, and he subsequently destroyed or disposed of the hidden camera that he used to make recordings of the victim before they could be seized by law enforcement officers.

On July 5, 2022, the Jeffersonville Police Department conducted court-authorized searches of Flamion’ s person and residence. Police seized electronic devices, including a laptop that contained secretly recorded videos of the victim nude or partially nude, and had been used to search for topics such as “hidden camera” and “real life cam.” Investigators also found videos of the victim nude or partially nude on Flamion’s iPhone and MicroSD card. In his guilty plea, Flamion admitted that he created the recordings of the child for his own sexual gratification.

“All children deserve to live in a home that is a place of safety and love. This defendant used his proximity to a child to secretly invade their safety and dignity, sexually exploiting them for his own gratification,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Those who seek to sexually exploit children must be identified and held accountable for the trauma they inflict on victims and their families. Thanks to the outstanding efforts of the Jeffersonville Police Department, FBI, and our federal prosecutor, the public will be protected from this defendant while he serves a very serious sentence in federal prison.”

“The defendant took advantage of a child’s vulnerability in their own home – a place where they should feel safe and protected – and not have to live in constant fear of being exploited,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI and our partners will continue to work diligently to protect our children from those engaging in such heinous crimes.”

“I want to thank the Indiana State Police Digital Forensic Examiners, FBI Indianapolis Field Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana for their assistance in the investigation and the thorough prosecution of Mr. Flamion,” said Col. Kenny Kavanaugh, Chief of Police of the Jeffersonville Police Department. “His predatory actions impacted not only the victims in this case but caused a ripple effect across our community. Our partnership with these agencies enabled us to conduct a sound investigation which led to a successful prosecution.”

The FBI, Indiana State Police, and Jeffersonville Police Department investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by Chief U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. Judge Pratt also ordered Flamion to pay $10,000 in restitution, $7,500 in fines, and to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, who prosecuted this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

Outcome:

Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release

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Defendant's Experts:

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