EDITOR’S NOTE: The original article said Jonathan Colson was from Franklin. This article has been corrected to reflect that is from Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man’s actions on an online gaming application led to him spending the next decade in federal prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced Jonathan Colson, 52 of Indianapolis, will spend the next 136 months in federal prison. The sentencing comes after Colson pleaded guilty to distributing and possessing child sex abuse material.

Court documents filed in the case state that starting in April 2018, Colsun used the chat feature of the online gaming platform Plato to send sexually explicit messages and material to another user. This platform was designed to help gamers play their favorite board games online with friends while chatting. However, anyone can create a profile anonymously.

During the conversations, court documents state Colson bragged about molesting children in his family. He also sent photos to the user. That user eventually contacted the police, who identified Colson as the sender and recovered messages and images that he sent.

In August 2020, police searched Colson’s home, recovering several devices with images and videos that Colson distributed. Some of these images depicted children as young as 10 engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

“Criminals like this defendant exploit the perceived anonymity of online gaming platforms to further their sexual interest in children,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Pedophiles who believe they can continue to trade horrific images of child sexual abuse online are sorely mistaken. The sentence imposed today shows that these offenders will be identified and will be removed from our communities.”

As part of the sentence, Colson will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years following his release from federal prison and pay $5,000 pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Colson must also register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school.