Illinois man sentenced to 14 years in prison for receiving child pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A local man was sentenced Monday to 14 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography.

This lengthy sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Kievan R. Walters III, 24, of Springfield, was sentenced Nov. 18 by U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough to 168 months in federal prison. Walters pleaded guilty plea in July to receiving child pornography in the fall of 2012. After he completes his prison term, Judge Myerscough ordered Walters to remain under supervised release for 25 years.

U.S. Marshals Service took Walters into custody immediately following his sentencing hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris, Central District of Illinois, prosecuted this case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.