Canton Man Pleads Guilty to Soliciting Child Exploitation Images
A Canton, Illinois man has pleaded guilty to soliciting an obscene visual depiction of a minor, a federal crime that carries a penalty of not less than five years and up to 20 years in prison.
Joseph M. Graham, 29, of the 500 block of Baxter Court, pleaded guilty on October 21, 2021, to the charge of soliciting an obscene visual depiction of a minor.
According to court documents, Graham used an online application to request sexually explicit images of an individual whom he believed to be 8 years old.
In court today, before U.S. District Judge James Shadid, Graham admitted that he initiated messages arranging to meet with individuals he believed to be the child and his father and, on January 8, 2020, traveled to a coffee shop on North Prospect Road, in Peoria, where he was taken into custody by federal agents.
Graham remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing, which has been scheduled for February 24, 2022, at the federal courthouse in Peoria, Illinois.
The charges were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Hanna is representing the government in the prosecution.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), to marshal federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Sex CrimesSex CrimesSex CrimesSex Crimes