Louisa man sentenced to 20 years in prison for having, sharing child sexual abuse material

LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A Louisa County man was sentenced to two decades in prison after he possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material (CSAM), with said distribution including images and videos sent over state lines.

On Friday, Feb. 28, 47-year-old Joshua Vrabel of Louisa was sentenced to 125 years in prison on three counts of possession of CSAM and five counts of distribution of CSAM. Of those 125 years, 105 were suspended, resulting in an effective 20-year sentence.

According to a press release from the Louisa County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, the investigation into Vrabel began with an Internet Crimes Against Children "Cyber Tip" sent to the Louisa County Sheriff's Office. That tip referenced a Dropbox account.

The sheriff's office issued a subpoena on that account, requesting information on its owner, which was revealed to be Vrabel. According to the release, the sheriff's office then executed a search warrant on Vrabel's vehicle, where deputies found his cell phone.

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Three CSAM videos containing "young children" were then found on that phone, per the release. Further forensic examination -- done in partnership with the Powhatan County Sheriff's Office -- revealed "additional criminal images."

Later, in June 2024, the Louisa County Sheriff's Office was contacted by the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office out of North Carolina. According to the release, Vrabel had distributed CSAM, both images and videos, to someone in the Cleveland County area.

"We are thankful to the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, the Powhatan Sheriff's Office and the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office for all of their hard work and dedication to bringing this case to a successful resolution," said Louisa's senior assistant Commonwealth's Attorney, Morgane Harper, in the release. "We hope that this sends a message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Louisa County.“