Dakota Flint, Child Pornography, Illinois 2022

Child Pornography Ringleader Faces Justice in Illinois

A Campus, Illinois man, Dakota Flint, 23, of the 200 block of Sheldon Avenue, has been sentenced to 17.5 years in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for possession of child pornography. This harsh sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge James Shadid in a federal court in Peoria, Illinois.

The federal sentence will run concurrently with Flint’s convictions in three sexual assault cases in Livingston County. In these cases, Flint was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault and predatory criminal sexual assault. As a result of his crimes, Flint must also register as a sex offender.

The evidence presented in court revealed that Flint was operating on the dark web under the username “acidman”. He used websites he accessed to distribute child pornography and to discuss engaging in hands-on sex offenses. Flint also inquired about how to sedate children and bragged about assaults he committed or planned to commit. A forensic analysis of his electronic devices revealed that he was responsible for more than 4,000 images of child pornography, including images and videos taken by Flint of minor juvenile females.

The investigation into Flint’s crimes was a collaborative effort between the U.S. Marshals, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, the Will County Sheriff’s Office, the Coal City Police Department, and the Dwight Police Department. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the HSI Cyber Crimes Center also assisted in the investigation.

Flint was originally indicted in June 2020 and pleaded guilty to the charge in January 2022. He has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his indictment.

The statutory penalties for possession of child pornography are up to 20 years imprisonment and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ronald L. Hanna and Paul B. Morris represented the government in the prosecution of Flint’s case.

The case against Flint was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the government to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.

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