COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Lancaster man was sentenced Tuesday to 80 months in federal prison for receiving child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Carson A. Bigham, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. He was arrested on federal charges in May 2025 and was charged in a bill of information filed in January 2026 with receipt of child pornography. He pleaded guilty in February, the office said.
The case grew out of an investigation into a Columbus man who was charged with federal child pornography crimes, including exploitation of a minor, in March 2025. Investigators received two separate CyberTips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children tied to that case, according to the release.
A forensic review of devices seized from the Columbus man turned up sexually explicit conversations between him and Bigham that included discussions of engaging in sex with minors, prosecutors said. Between August 2024 and May 2025, Bigham received child pornography during those exchanges, including files depicting prepubescent children engaged in sex acts with adults, according to the release. He also solicited the Columbus man for images of a fictitious underage girl Bigham believed was real.
Investigators determined Bigham was employed as a Columbus firefighter at the time and matched photographs of him to images sent to the Columbus man, the release said.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II; Jared Murphey, acting special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations office in Detroit; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin; members of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force; and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Columbus Airport Group and the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Czerniejewski prosecuted the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, according to the release.
Suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
