Marion Man Sentenced to 8+ Years in Prison on Child Pornography Charges

BENTON, Ill. - A district judge sentenced a Marion man to 97 months' imprisonment for receiving and possessing child pornography.

Michael D. Mitchell, 36, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office will continue to prosecute individuals who view and upload child sexual abuse material, and a federal prison sentence is warranted for those who contribute to the online sexual exploitation of children," said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. "I commend our FBI partners for their efforts to identify and investigate child predators."

According to court documents, federal law enforcement received an online tip from an internet platform for a user uploading child pornography. Agents tracked the IP address associated with the user to Mitchell's Marion residence. Following a subsequent search of Mitchell's phone, agents recovered eight items of child sexual abuse material.

"This case demonstrates the effectiveness of the FBI's partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children," said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher Johnson. "FBI Springfield opened this investigation based on a tip from NCMEC's Cyber Tipline which allows parents and children to report child sexual abuse material and other incidents of sexual exploitation of children. Thanks to that tip, another offender is behind bars, no longer able to contribute to the spread of child sexual abuse material."

Upon release from prison, the judge ordered Mitchell to serve five years of supervised release.

The FBI Springfield Field Office led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Sanders prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, 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.