Illinois man sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for producing child pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois man was sentenced Monday to 35 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography.

This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Springfield Police Department.

Marcus B. Fifer, 44, of Springfield, was sentenced June 20 by U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough, Central District of Illinois, to 420 months in federal prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release upon his release from prison.

A jury convicted Fifer Oct. 30 on 17 counts of sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography and one count of committing a felony offense with a minor while being required to register as a sex offender. Fifer has been detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest in February 2014.

At trial, the government presented evidence that from April 1 through Nov. 18, 2013, Fifer used a cellphone, tablet and laptop computer to take images of a minor. Further evidence established that Fifer previously pleaded guilty in 2008 in Champaign County, Illinois, to aggravated criminal sexual abuse. At the time of the offenses for which Fifer was convicted in October 2015, he was required to register as a sex offender.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John E. Childress and Matthew Z. Weir, 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 14,000 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 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

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. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

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.