Brian A. Miller, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Illinois 2014

A Peoria, Illinois man has been convicted of 22 counts of sexual exploitation of minors, a crime that could land him behind bars for up to 30 years.

Brian A. Miller, 36, of Varna, Illinois, was found guilty of the charges after a two-day bench trial before Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid. Miller was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint filed on August 29, 2013, and has remained detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since.

During the trial, the government presented evidence to demonstrate that from at least July 2011 through May 2012, on at least 22 occasions, Miller used a cell phone to take images of minors from a hole in the wall of his home while the minors were using a shower.

At sentencing, for each count of sexual exploitation of a minor in the production of child pornography, the statutory penalty is not less than 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison. The offense also carries a term of supervised release of up to life following any term of imprisonment.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, the Marshall County Sheriff's Office, the Peoria County Sheriff's Office, and the Bloomington Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Bass is prosecuting 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. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.

Miller is set to be sentenced on September 16, 2014.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdil/pr/marshall-county-man-convicted-sexual-exploitation-minors