Peoria, Ill. - A Peoria, Illinois man with prior convictions for child sex offenses was sentenced today to a term of life in prison plus 10 years, as announced by U.S. Attorney Rodger A. Heaton, Central District of Illinois. Justin A. Rosenbohm, 30, is the first defendant in the Central District of Illinois to be sentenced to life under the enhanced penalties provided by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.

The Adam Walsh Act, enacted July 27, 2006, enhanced and strengthened federal statutes related to child sexual exploitation. Included in the enhancements is a mandatory life sentence for the defendant convicted of a federal sex offense in which a minor is a victim if the defendant has a prior sex conviction in which a minor was the victim. The Act also mandates an additional term of 10 years in prison be served consecutive to any sentence for the underlying offense if the defendant was required to register as a sex offender when he committed one of the delineated offenses involving a minor.

Rosenbohm, of the 1000 block of East McClure Avenue, has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest on September 19, 2007. Rosenbohm pled guilty on February 8, 2008, to producing sexually explicit images of minors under the age of 18 from about June 18, 2007 through September 7, 2007.

According to court documents, federal law enforcement agents received information in September 2007 that Rosenbohm had “inappropriate” pictures on his computer. Agents executed a search warrant of Rosenbohm’s computer and a camera. A subsequent forensic examination of the items revealed numerous images depicting child pornography, including sexually explicit images taken with Rosenbohm’s camera of an 11-year-old girl and of a male toddler.

Court documents reflect that Rosenbohm was convicted in federal court in the Central District of Illinois in March 2001 for possession of child pornography and was sentenced to a term of 27 months in prison. In April 2001, Rosenbohm was convicted in Peoria County, Illinois for aggravated criminal sexual abuse for having sexual contact with a child. He was sentenced to a three-year term to be served concurrently with the federal sentence.

In April 2003, Rosenbohm was released on supervision. Rosenbohm’s supervision was revoked in June 2003 and he was sentenced to serve 23 months in federal prison after authorities learned that he was having contact with children in violation of his terms of supervised release.

The Peoria Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in partnership with the Central Illinois Cybercrime Unit, conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Keith in the Central District of Illinois as part of Project Safe Childhood.

In February 2006, the United States Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.