Michigan man sentenced to 30 years on child exploitation charges

DETROIT — A Michigan man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Friday for charges related to the exploitation of children following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Marcus Wilson, 52, of Livingston County, Mich., was sentenced after pleading guilty to production of child pornography and transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade, Eastern District of Michigan, and Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE HSI's Michigan office.

"While this sentence cannot restore the lost innocence of the children who were victimized in this case," said Moskowitz. "It should serve as a warning to those who engage in this type of depraved behavior: HSI and our partners will be relentless in our pursuit of predators."

According to court records, Wilson posed two minor boys, naked, in front of his webcam and broadcasted the images to individuals around the country through Skype. The defendant was discovered after an international child exploitation investigation led to a man in Texas who Wilson was Skyping with.

When Wilson was arrested, he was wearing only his underwear and was on Skype with four live video chats on his screen. Messages between the individuals online and Wilson suggested that Wilson was about to put the minor boys, naked, in front of his webcam.

A subsequent search of Wilson's computer revealed that Wilson primarily shared images of the minor boys with the man in Texas who would Skype naked images of another minor boy in return. Wilson also admitted to sexually abusing a minor boy at home and on a business trip to Chicago.

Wilson was arrested in December of 2010 by ICE HSI special agents who led the investigation.

McQuade praised the work of ICE HSI whose dedication and skill led to the identification and arrest of Wilson within 24 hours of receiving the information from Texas.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Roth and Hala Jarbou prosecuted the case.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline 1-866-DHS-2ICE or 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 and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.