Terry Lee Miksell, Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Missouri 2020

A Diamond, Missouri, man has been convicted of the sexual exploitation of a child, a crime that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole.

Terry Lee Miksell, 65, was found guilty on Tuesday, March 29, of one count of producing child pornography and one count of using the internet and a cell phone to induce a 16-year-old victim to engage in sexual activity.

At the time of the offense, Miksell was employed as a counselor at a Purdy, Mo., drug treatment facility.

Facebook initiated two CyberTips in September 2019 after locating sexually explicit messages and images between Miksell and the 16-year-old victim. Miksell asked the child victim in Facebook Messenger chats to send him sexually explicit images and videos. She told investigators she sent those images and videos at his request. Miksell also sent pornographic pictures of himself to the child victim.

Officers executed a search warrant at Miksell’s residence on January 16, 2020, and seized several devices, including a cell phone. The cell phone contained a pornographic video of the child victim.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., deliberated for approximately 30 minutes before returning guilty verdicts on both counts to U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark, ending a trial that began Monday, March 28.

Miksell is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/jury-convicts-diamond-man-sexual-exploitation-child