By VDC staff

The Attorney General’s Office June 25 announced that Grace Gamble (charged as Peter Gamble), 29, of Montpelier was given a suspended sentence in Vermont court after pleading guilty to one felony count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. 

The investigation into the 2021 crime was initiated when VT-ICAC received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual was suspected to possess images of child sexual abuse material on a Synchronoss Technologies/Verizon Cloud account. Based on the criminal investigation of that tip, Gamble was identified as the source and owner of the account that contained the child sexual abuse materials.

According to a 2024 Times-Argus press report of Gamble’s guilty plea, ‘police said the company reported 17 files of suspected child sex abuse materials were uploaded from an 802 cellphone number. The files showed children nude or engaging in sex acts, both with other children and with adults, according to court records.”

The AG’s office said Judge Michael Harris sentenced Ms. Gamble to up to five years in prison, all suspended under a 10-year term of probation with conditions that mandate completion of sex offender programming, limit Ms. Gamble’s contact with children and restrict her access to the internet. If Ms. Gamble violates the terms of probation, she faces up to five years in prison. Ms. Gamble is also required to register as a sex offender until 10 years after the completion of the sentence.   

Burlington man arraigned on child porn charge

Also on June 25, the Attorney General’s Office announced that Brendan Sullivan, 29, of Burlington was arraigned yesterday on 10 felony counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials and one count of Luring. The charges brought against Sullivan are the result of a criminal investigation, including the execution of search warrants conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), which included personnel from the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Burlington Police Department.

The investigation was initiated when VT-ICAC received a CyberTipline report. The tip was reported by OpenAI after an individual uploaded an image of child sexual abuse material from an electronic device onto its servers. 

Based on the criminal investigation of that tip, Sullivan was identified as the owner of the account that uploaded the image. Law enforcement personnel executed a search warrant on Sullivan’s residence, which revealed that Sullivan was actively in possession of numerous child sexual abuse materials. Sullivan has a criminal conviction for a similar offense from Vermont’s Federal District Court.

Sullivan pleaded not guilty at his arraignment yesterday in Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Criminal Division. Judge Timothy Doherty ordered conditions of release which restrict Sullivan’s access to minors, electronic devices, and the internet.

VT-ICAC investigates cases of child sexual exploitation occurring over the internet, including the production and online distribution of child sexual abuse materials. VT-ICAC also provides forensic examination services, technical assistance, law enforcement training, and public education and outreach.