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March 9, 2021Springfield, MO, United StatesChild Exploitation

Missouri man sentenced to 20 years for sexually explicit online conduct

Multiple child victims in Canada

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A southwestern Missouri man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for using a popular social media app to contact 12- and 13-year-old girls in Canada to induce them to engage in sexually explicit behavior.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Springfield (Missouri) Police Department.

Michael David Miller, 40, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Miller previously pleaded guilty June 2, to the coercion and enticement of a minor.

On May 23, 2019, law enforcement in Ottawa, Canada, received multiple reports from 12-to-13-year-old girls that an older man – later identified as Miller – was communicating with them on SnapChat. Miller asked them to engage in sexually explicit activity, sent videos and images of child pornography and masturbated while on video chat with some of the minors. SnapChat submitted 25 files of suspected child pornography to law enforcement, that had been sent between Jan. 6 and May 29, 2019.

Local law enforcement began investigating after Miller was identified. Investigators also received information from an adult woman regarding Miller’s conduct via text messages and video chat through the Duo application. Officers executed a search warrant at Miller’s residence July 18, 2019, during which multiple devices were seized. A forensic examination of those devices found videos and images of child pornography on his laptop computer.

Miller also admitted that he engaged in similar criminal conduct with children in Nebraska and Wisconsin.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller.

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 25,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors and sex trafficking of children.

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.

HSI is a founding member 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.

For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from online sexual abuse, visit ice.gov/topics/iGuardians.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of DHS and a vital U.S. asset in combatting transnational crime and threats. One of HSI’s top priorities is to protect the public from crimes of victimization, and HSI’s child exploitation investigations program is a central component of this mission set. HSI is recognized as a global leader in this investigative discipline, and is committed to utilizing its vast authorities, international footprint and strong government and non-government partnerships to identify and rescue child victims, identify and apprehend offenders, prevent transnational child sexual abuse, and help make the internet a safer place for children.

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