Dubois County man gets eight years in child sex abuse case

Christopher Wilson of Dubois County will spend the next eight years in prison after a plea agreement resolved a Huntingburg Police child sex abuse investigation that began with a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Wilson pleaded guilty to one count of vicarious sexual conduct, two counts of child solicitation, three counts of dissemination of matter harmful to minors and one count of child sex abuse material. The sentence also includes four years of supervised probation after he completes the prison term. The plea agreement changed the shape of the case by turning a string of felony allegations into convictions without a trial.

The investigation started Oct. 21, 2025, when Huntingburg police reviewed the Cyber Tip Report. Investigators said the tip came from Instagram and involved an adult male communicating with a girl younger than 16. From there, police said they used a search warrant and subpoenas to electronic and internet service providers to examine Wilson’s online activity more closely.

That follow-up work uncovered additional evidence of child solicitation and conduct tied to sexual exploitation. In practical terms, the case shows how child-protection investigations in Dubois County can begin with a digital report and then move quickly into local police work, warrant requests and felony charges once investigators connect the online messages to a specific person and a minor in the community.

Indiana State Police says its Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force encourages Hoosiers to report online exploitation, solicitation and enticement to NCMEC. The task force says Indiana received more than 7,500 CyberTips in 2021, a sign of how often those reports are feeding criminal investigations across the state. Indiana Code IC 35-42-4-4 covers child exploitation and child sex abuse material, and a 2023 Indiana General Assembly digest says penalties can increase when an explicit image is sent to a child.

Dubois County Prosecutor Beth Schroeder and the county prosecutor’s office represented the State of Indiana in the case. For local residents, the outcome closes one chapter in a case that moved from an Instagram message to a prison sentence, with supervised probation set to follow.