By Krista Monk| November 10, 2020 at 5:20 PM EST – Updated November 10 at 5:20 PM
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – A former Pelham resident was sentenced to federal prison after he was caught distributing large amounts of child pornography on social media while he was also attempting to foster a child, according to Charlie Peeler, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
A press release from Peeler’s office says Michael King, 42, of Little Falls, New York, formerly of Pelham, was sentenced after pleading guilty to distribution of child pornography.
King was caught by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), according to Peeler.
Peeler said HSI agents determined that Kik app user “Silent Dream 78” had posted images of child pornography to a Kik messenger chat group from July to August 2018, and the user was likely King.
A search warrant was executed at King’s Pelham home on January 17, 2019, where agents found seven computer media items that contained child pornography, according to the press release.
King admitted that his Kik user names were “Silent Dream 78” and “SilentDream1977” and that he had been downloading and viewing child pornography “for forever,” Peeler reported. On five occasions, King used the Kik chat messenger app to share child pornography, including images involving very young children.
During sentencing, the court noted that King engaged in highly detailed ideation in the form of online text messages with another online collector of child pornography about having sex with a foster or adopted child and allowing another sex offender to have sex with the child when the child arrived, according to Peeler’s office.
The release states that King claimed that the text messages were fantasy. However, the court noted that the defendant and his wife were well along in the foster/adoption process. The defendant has been in custody since the execution of the search warrant at his home in January 2019.
“It is deeply disturbing that King was attempting to foster a child, while at the same time fantasizing about sexually harming a foster child and allowing another sexual predator to do the same. HSI agents stopped a child predator from doing irreparable harm to an innocent child. We must continue to bring the full force of the law against child sexual predators. Those individuals caught distributing child pornography will be prosecuted and will face federal prison, without parole,” said Peeler. “We will not stop working alongside our federal, state and local partners to protect Georgia’s children and bring child predators to justice.”
King was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. King will also have to register as a sex offender upon release from federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
“No sentence will ever bring back the innocence that this monster has stolen from countless helpless children,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees HSI operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to victimize our most vulnerable members of society and prosecute those predators to the fullest extent of the law.”
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Source: https://www.walb.com/2020/11/10/former-pelham-resident-sentenced-distributing-child-pornography/
