A Montgomery County man has been handed multiple life sentences without parole for extreme and prolonged sexual crimes against children.
Joshua Vanarsdale, 32, was charged with continuous sexual abuse against a child, aggravated assault of a child and five counts of possession of child pornography.
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Vanarsdale was first brought to the attention of local authorities when Google reported that a user had uploaded several hundred images featuring sexual abuse of children. Among the uploaded content was a video featuring a man—later identified as Vanarsdale—abusing a 6-year-old. Investigators identified the victim in the video, and a search warrant was executed on Vanarsdale’s home around three days after the tip was first received.
Montgomery County authorities seized multiple devices from his residents, and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force confirmed that the devices contained thousands of images of child abuse, as well as other grotesque content like bestiality, torture, murder, and bodily dismemberment.
When he was questioned, Vanarsdale admitted to being the person in the abuse video from the initial tip. He also told investigators he had been consuming abuse material for seven years.
During the investigation, another young child came forward and disclosed that Vanarsdale had abused them.
After being arrested and charged, Vanarsdale pleaded not guilty on all charges, but after just around 30 minutes of deliberation, a Montgomery County jury found him guilty on all counts on Oct. 23.
On Oct. 25, he was sentenced to two life sentences along with an additional 50 years for the five counts of possession of abuse material. All of the charges will run consecutively, and he will never be eligible for parole.
“It’s rare to encounter an individual so driven by malevolence as Joshua Aaron Vanarsdale,” Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said in a statement announcing the sentencing. “His disturbing obsession with harming children and fixation on death and darkness made him a true predator, hiding in plain sight. Today’s sentence ensures he will remain separated from society permanently, protecting our community from the darkness inside him. And great is that darkness.”