Southern Indiana man sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to child porn charges

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB+WAVE) — A Jeffersonville, Indiana, man was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to federal online child exploitation charges.

James Dean Collett, 31 entered guilty pleas on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and attempt and two counts of possession of child sexual abuse.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, Collett used several social media apps and text messaging to contact three minors who were located in Pennsylvania, Idaho and Mississippi. During the online interactions, Collett told the minors he was a teenager when he was actually in his late 20s.

Federal prosecutors said Collett had the minors create and send him more than 100 sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.

When authorities served a search warrant on Feb. 8, 2024, at Collett’s home, they found an iPhone that contained child sexual abuse material. After that phone was seized, FBI agents said Collett got another phone and continued to use until his arrest in August 2024.

“He didn’t just exploit children — he manipulated them, threatened them, and tried to pull even younger children into the abuse. That behavior demands a serious response,” FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley said. “Protecting children means going after the people who prey on them. The FBI will use every tool at our disposal to find these predators and bring them to justice.”

Collett was sentenced Oct. 9 and ordered to pay $59,000 in restitution.