The Attorney General’s Office announced that, in separate incidents, two Vermont men—Matthew Luzzatto, 48, of Colchester, Vermont, and Joshua Burbank, 37, of Newport, Vermont—were arraigned in Vermont Superior Court today for possession of child sexual abuse material.
Matthew Luzzatto, 48, was arraigned on one felony count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The charge brought against Mr. Luzzatto is the result of a criminal investigation conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), including personnel from the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Colchester Police Department, and Burlington Police Department.
The investigation was initiated when VT-ICAC received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual had uploaded a suspected image of child sexual abuse material onto the BingImage platform. Based on the criminal investigation of that tip, including the execution of a residential search warrant, Mr. Luzzatto was identified as a suspect. During a forensic review of Mr. Luzzatto’s laptop, officers located suspected child sexual abuse material.
Mr. Luzzatto pleaded not guilty at the arraignment today in Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Michael Kupersmith presiding, ordered conditions of release which restrict Mr. Luzzatto’s access to minors and limit his access to the internet.
In a separate incident, Joshua Burbank, 37, was arraigned on five felony counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The charges brought against Mr. Burbank are the result of a criminal investigation conducted by the Newport Police Department with the assistance of the VT-ICAC.
Mr. Burbank pleaded not guilty at the arraignment today in Vermont Superior Court, Orleans Unit Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Justin Jiron presiding, ordered conditions of release which limits Mr. Burbank’s access to minors and limits his access to 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.
Every child deserves a safe childhood. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. Anyone can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual molestation, child sexual abuse material, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet. To make a report, call the 24-hour call center at 1-800-843-5678 or visit https://report.cybertip.org.
Additionally, if you are recovering from child sexual exploitation, you do not have to navigate it alone. NCMEC can help with emotional and peer support, removing content from the internet, and locating mental health professionals. For more information, please visit https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/csam-resources or call the 24-hour call center at 1-800-843-5678.
The Attorney General’s Office emphasizes that individuals charged with a crime are legally presumed innocent until their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
CONTACT: Lauren Jandl, Chief of Staff, 802-828-3171