Colchester man seeking to become woman sent to federal prison
By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
BURLINGTON — A Colchester man, who court records say is seeking to become a woman, has been sentenced to nearly 22 years in federal prison after admitting he solicited a pre-teen-age girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of him producing videos three years ago.
George Casey, 33, was captured on five videos sexually assaulting little girls as he filmed the abuse, Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson said in court papers after his arrest in March 2021. Masterson said the young girls had come forward and reported they were sexually assaulted.
Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey Crawford sentenced Casey to 262 months in prison for the single felony charge of production of child pornography on July 5, 2020 and a second count of possession of child porn involving a girl under age 12 on March 11, 2021.
Crawford told Casey that once he is discharged from prison, he would be under federal supervised release conditions for 15 more years.
The U.S. Homeland Security Investigations case is considered one of the more serious child pornography cases in Vermont in recent years.
Crawford plans to hold a restitution hearing for the victims on Friday afternoon.
The five videos ranged up to almost 3 minutes and involved Casey’s illegal contact with the young girls, the HSI said. Casey attempted to conceal the videos by storing them on a hard drive in about a 20th subdirectory, Masterson wrote. At least four videos were recorded in his bedroom, she said.
According to court records and proceedings, during the summer of 2020, law enforcement received a report that Casey, who lived in Winchester Place adjacent to Fort Ethan Allen, was sexually assaulting minor children.
The investigation culminated in the execution of a state search warrant at Casey’s residence on March 11, 2021, during which multiple computers and other digital media were seized and searched. While searching Casey’s devices, law enforcement found the five videos that showed Casey sexually assaulting two little girls, both under the age of 10, whom Casey knew, records note.
After discovering these videos, authorities immediately arrested Casey. In addition to the images and videos Casey produced, law enforcement discovered a large collection of approximately 1,419 images depicting child sexual abuse materials on Casey’s digital media.
Casey will be required to register as a convicted sex offender and update it if he moves to another state, the plea agreement said.
The prosecution did agree at the change of plea hearing that it would recommend to the court that the Federal Bureau of Prisons be notified that Casey is transitioning to a woman.
Casey has been held at prisons for men since his federal arraignment in August 2021 in Colchester, but the written plea agreement opens the door that the defendant could serve time at a facility for women during his planned transition, if approved by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The U.S. Marshals Service returned Casey to the Northwest State Correctional Facility for men after the sentencing last Friday.
The parents of at least one victim had attended the change of plea hearing. The mother expressed disgust as specific details of the crime were read into the court record so the judge could find justification for the two guilty pleas. When Crawford asked Casey if he wished to contest any details provided by Masterson, he said no.
The defendant did say in court that he wanted to be known as Lunara Casey, but would answer to Mr. and Miss. The signature on the plea agreement said Lunara George Casey.
Burlington defense lawyer Mark D. Oettinger said in court the hope is Casey will end up in a prison for women, with proper medical facilities, and both sex offender treatment and psychiatric services.
Oettinger said he understood the court could not order the marshals service or Bureau of Prisons on where to hold Casey, but hoped the judge would suggest a facility for women.
The plea agreement requires Casey, who said he had worked as a crossing guard in an unidentified town, to stay away from his victims and have no contact.
Casey had pleaded not guilty in federal court earlier to seven felony charges, including he both produced and possessed child pornography showing him sexually assaulting young girls at his Colchester residence in July 2020.
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations reported a state search warrant was initially executed in March 2021 at Casey’s apartment. The raid was done in conjunction with the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigation – a task force focused on child and sex abuse cases in the county.
Now retired HSI Special Agent Michael McCullagh said several videos were seized and turned over to the Vermont State Police computer crime division for a full analysis.
Tens of thousands of images were seized, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The evidence was described as “voluminous” because of computers, cellphones, compact discs, DVDs and thumb drives.
As part of the plea agreement, Casey also consented to the destruction of at least 14 computer-related items seized during the raid.
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