FORT WAYNE – Joel J. McClure, 38 years old, of Columbia City, Indiana, was sentenced to 420 months in prison for sexual exploitation of children, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.
McClure was sentenced to 300 months in prison for the count of sexual exploitation of children, and a consecutive term of 120 months imprisonment for committing that offense while being a registered sex offender, for a total sentence of 420 months, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, McClure used the internet to solicit a fourteen-year-old girl to produce and send him child sexual abuse material, which he then shared with others on the internet. McClure then lured the child to meet with him in person and provided her vape pens and THC gummies in exchange for sexual contact.
McClure was a registered sex offender at the time of this offense, having previously been convicted of an offense against children in Texas.
“Joel McClure is a sexual predator of the worst kind,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Proctor. “He abused a child in Texas, was convicted of that crime, and was required to register as a sex offender. Yet those severe consequences failed to deter him from ensnaring another child in his web of lies and then exploiting that child for his own perverse gratification. In other words, he has shown that only a long prison sentence will keep our families safe from his depredations.
“This sentence reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed and the lifelong impact they have on victims,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “The FBI will never stop working to protect children and hold predators accountable – we will relentlessly pursue anyone who seeks to harm the most vulnerable among us.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Allen County Sheriff’s Department/FBI Task Force with assistance from the Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Department, the Schaumburg (Illinois) Police Department, the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, the Indiana State Police, the Whitley County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Cook County (Illinois) Prosecutor’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey R. Speith.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Chesterton Man Sentenced to 292 Months for Coercion and Enticement of Minor · Texas
- Lafayette Man Sentenced For Sex Crimes Against Minors · Texas
- Collin Patrick Valenti Sentenced to 15 Years for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of Children, Garden City MI, 2024 · Texas
- Adrian Scott Warren, Sexual Exploitation of Children, San Antonio TX, 2022 · Texas
- Kasey Ludberg, Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Indiana 2023 · New Hampshire
Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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