Greencastle man sentenced in child exploitation case

Thursday, May 22, 2025 at 9:03 PM

By Paul Gable

A former dance choreographer who once owned a studio in Avon was convicted and sentenced on four counts of child exploitation this week in Putnam County.

Bruce Campbell, of Greencastle, accepted a plea deal from Putnam County Prosecutor Austin Malayer and was sentenced to 12 years, with 10 years to be served in the Department of Corrections. Once his sentence in jail is complete, he will spend a year on home detention and then a year on probation.

"Whether the crimes are committed in person or via the internet, our office remains committed to holding individuals accountable for crimes against children," Malayer said in a release.

The conviction comes after an investigation last year by the Child Abuse and Sexual Exploitation task force, which reeved a cyber tip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Campbell was viewing and sharing child pornography. A search warrant on Campbell's phone uncovered numerous videos and pictures depicting children, as young as 4 years old, engaged in sexual acts with adults. Campbell had been sharing the videos and images with other people through apps on his phone.

Campbell told investigators he used multiple social media outlets, as well as X for pornography.