Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 192 Months in Prison

FORT WAYNE - Samuel Hicks, 35 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady, after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Advertise and Distribute Child Pornography, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Hicks was sentenced to 192 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, between January and March of 2022, Hicks posted images of videos of child sexual abuse material on a dark website which facilitated the advertisement and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Allen County Sheriff's Department Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley Miller Lowery of the Northern District of Indiana and Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.