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An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a child, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced Dec. 29.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced Devon Shane Mitchell, 37. Pratt also ordered that Mitchell be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 20 years following his release from federal prison and pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim.
According to court documents, while investigating a series of fires alleged to be arson in February 2023, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigators seized a cellphone from Mitchell. When the phone was examined, investigators saw visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and videos of Mitchell engaged in child sexual abuse of a child under 4 years old.
On April 18, police officers executed additional search warrants at Mitchell’s residence, and he was taken into custody.
During a thorough search of his electronic devices, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents found more than 800 images and videos of other child sexual abuse material Mitchell collected online, in addition to the videos he created using the toddler victim, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Our hearts break for the violence and trauma the defendant inflicted on such a young and vulnerable child. We are deeply committed to finding the offenders who sexually exploit our children and ensuring that they are taken out of our communities,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Zachary Myers said in a news release. “Thanks to the dedicated investigators at the FBI, IMPD, and our federal prosecutor, this victim and every other child will be protected from the defendant’s crimes for decades to come.”
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
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