Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Reno, Nevada                                                                                                         

Craig Steven Blodgett, 55 (DOB 7/5/60) of Sparks, was sentenced earlier today in Washoe County District Court to a three life terms for three counts of sexual offenses against children.  Blodgett previously pled guilty in September of this year to one count of Sexual Assault of a Child, one count of Lewdness with a Minor Under the Age of 14 and one count of Unlawful Use of A Minor as the Subject of a Sexual Portrayal in a Performance.  The sentences will run consecutively and Blodgett will not be eligible for parole until he has served a minimum of 40 years in prison. In announcing the sentence, the Honorable Patrick Flanagan quoted a passage from an impact statement one of the victim’s wrote: “You deserve to rot in your prison cell until the day you die.”

The case began in June, 2014 when a young woman reported to police that Blodgett had sexually abused her when she was a child. The incidents of abuse began when the victim was 4 years old and continued over the course of 12 years. In addition to sexual abuse, the defendant also took pornographic pictures using several cameras he had covertly installed in her bathroom.  The ensuing investigation included the search and seizure of numerous items of Blodgett’s property, including cameras and other digital evidence.  Based on what they found on these items, detectives identified two additional child victims and discovered that Blodgett had set up a surreptitious video  recording system in a property he owned and rented.  The defendant had run wires from his property to the rental property where he had set up a recording system in one of the bathrooms to capture images of the children who lived there in various stages of undress.  The investigation also revealed Blodgett had a prior conviction in Washoe County during the 1990’s for indecent exposure for luring a four year old child to his home and committing sexual acts in front of her.

This case was investigated by a multi-disciplinary team coordinated through the Washoe County Child Advocacy Center. The team included authorities from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Crimes Against Children Unit, the Northern Nevada Cyber Center, the Washoe County Child Abuse Response and Evaluation (CARES) team, Washoe County Social Services, and the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office.