INDIANAPOLIS - Dustin Rose, 33, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child sex abuse material.According to court documents, over a four-year period, Dustin Rose engaged in sexually explicit conduct with three children and took photographs of the conduct.In 2018, Rose took photos zooming in on the clothed genital area of a girl under the age of 16.  Rose also took a photograph of himself grabbing the clothed breast of the girl, who was a relative of a woman Rose had been dating.Between November 2020 and August 2022, Rose repeatedly fondled the breasts of another girl while she was asleep in her bedroom. This child was under the age of 12 and was a relative of a woman Rose was dating during that time.In August of 2022, Rose’s relationship with that woman ended and he moved out of the house. After Rose moved out, the woman found a microSD card that belonged to Rose. The woman viewed the contents of the microSD card and found multiple sexually explicit images.

Man holding microSD card; image by Erik Mclean, via Unsplash.com.

On October 19, 2022, IMPD officers arrested Rose. When Rose was taken into custody, police seized a cell phone that he was holding in his hand. Investigators found multiple sexually explicit images depicting a young girl three to four-years-old, including an image of Rose touching the child’s exposed pubic area.An examination of Rose’s cell phone showed that he had a Dropbox account containing multiple images and videos of unknown children, including pre-pubescent children, being raped and sexually abused. In total, Rose possessed more than 600 images of child sexual abuse material.“No child should suffer sexual abuse, especially at the hands of individuals they and their families believed they could trust,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “For years, this predator exploited multiple children to satisfy his criminal sexual desires. The U.S. Secret Service, IMPD, and federal prosecutors worked tirelessly to remove this offender from the community and stop the abuse. Thanks to their efforts, and those who brought the abuse to the attention of law enforcement, Mr. Rose will now spend decades in federal prison, where he cannot sexually abuse another child.”“The U.S. Secret Service is a proud member of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Adams, of the U. S. Secret Service’s Indianapolis Field Office. “The Secret Service is honored to partner with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and support their work in this investigation and the pursuit of those who choose to victimize children.”U.S. Secret Service and IMPD investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Hanlon. Judge Hanlon also ordered that Rose be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for life following his release from federal prison and register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school.U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Kyle M. Sawa and former Assistant United States Attorney Kristina M. Korobov, 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.