Michael Henderson LeClaire, Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Production of Child Pornography, Arkansas 2021

FAYETTEVILLE – A Rogers man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in producing child pornography and aggravated sexual abuse of a minor.

Michael Henderson LeClaire, 34, of Rogers, Arkansas, was sentenced on November 2021 in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, in July 2020, the Rogers Police Department received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding a Snapchat user that was uploading child sexual abuse material. The investigation led police to LeClaire’s residence and electronics, showing that he had produced videos of child sexual abuse material involving multiple minors.

The videos showed LeClaire sexually abusing an approximately 5-year-old male, 5-year-old female, and a 2-year-old male. Further, the investigation showed that LeClaire had traveled across state lines to engage in sexual acts with two of the minors.

LeClaire was indicted by a Grand Jury in the Western District in July 2021 and entered a plea of guilty in November 2021.

The Rogers Police Department and the Arkansas Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Williams prosecuted the case for the United States.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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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