A St. James City man has been sentenced to prison after a jury found him guilty of possessing and accessing child sexual abuse photos and videos.
Douglas Alan Vander Laan, 68, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, along with a 15-year term of supervised release. Vander Laan has also been ordered to register as a sex offender.
Court documents state Vander Laan entered a guilty plea on Aug. 20, 2024.
According to court documents, between June and August of 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received four cybertips from an Electronic Service Provider reporting that Vander Laan had uploaded files depicting sexual abuse material onto an online visual search service to search for similar images.
On Nov. 28, 2023, agents met Vander Laan at his place of employment, and he reportedly agreed to speak with them.
Vander Laan reportedly admitted that he had used the visual search service and viewed images of children that were unclothed.
The FBI conducted a search warrant the same day at Vander Laan's home, where they said they seized his laptop. Forensic examinations revealed images and videos of child sexual abuse material.
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