Michael Leonard, Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Illinois 2022

A West Virginia truck driver has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempting to traffic a 9-year-old girl in Illinois.

The crime occurred in central Illinois, where Michael Leonard, 53, had agreed to pay $50 for sex with the minor girl. He planned to meet the girl and her mother at an agreed upon location, but FBI agents arrested him upon his arrival.

Leonard admitted to the crime and stated that he had intended to have sex with the girl. His phone also contained hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. He has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.

Leonard was indicted in September 2021 and pleaded guilty in September 2022. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and pay restitution totaling $49,000 to victims of child pornography.

The statutory penalties for attempted sex trafficking of a minor are fifteen years to life imprisonment, followed by five years to life of supervised release. Leonard’s sentence is 15 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

The case against Leonard was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Office investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Hollingshead-Cook represented the United States in the prosecution.

Morton, Illinois – A West Virginia over-the-road truck driver, Michael Leonard, 53, has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for attempted trafficking of a minor. Leonard will also be required to register as a sex offender and pay restitution totaling $49,000 to victims of child pornography, whose images were stored on his phone.

At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid, the United States presented evidence that Leonard had initiated a conversation on an advertising website in August 2020 with an individual he believed to be a mother offering sex with her 9-year-old daughter. He again initiated a text conversation in August 2021, agreeing to pay $50 for sex with the minor girl. He planned to meet the girl and her mother at an agreed upon location in central Illinois, and FBI agents then arrested Leonard upon his arrival.

Related Federal Cases