Carmichael-Margel Gets 6.5 Years for Child Abuse Images

PORTLAND, Maine – A depraved Auburn man has been handed a significant federal sentence for sickeningly possessing child sexual abuse material. Dylan Carmichael-Margel, 31, formerly of Hollis, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 78 months – six and a half years – in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The sentence comes after he pleaded guilty on June 23, 2022, to the heinous charges.

Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy didn’t stop at incarceration. Carmichael-Margel was also ordered to pay $34,000 in restitution, a paltry sum considering the irreparable harm caused to the victims depicted in the material he hoarded. Court records reveal a disturbing pattern: between May 2020 and January 2021, Carmichael-Margel knowingly downloaded and possessed images and videos exploiting children.

The investigation, led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), uncovered the extent of Carmichael-Margel’s depravity. In January 2021, HSI agents executed a search warrant at his Hollis residence, seizing a cell phone and laptop. Both devices were brimming with child sexual abuse material. The most chilling detail? Images recovered from the cell phone featured victims as young as two years old. The exploitation was widespread and deeply disturbing.

This wasn’t a fleeting glimpse; this was a deliberate collection of abuse. Each image and video represents a further violation of vulnerable children, a re-traumatization with every view. The Grimy Times refuses to sanitize the horror of these crimes, because the public needs to understand the gravity of the offenses and the predators who commit them.

This case was brought forth as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 to combat the escalating epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the project aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who prey on children online and to rescue victims. More information on Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.

If you encounter child sexual abuse material, report it immediately. You can file a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org/ or by calling 1-800-843-5678. Your report will be forwarded to law enforcement. In an emergency, call 911 or your local police department. Silence enables abuse.