Springfield, Ill. – U.S. District Judge Richard Mills today sentenced Dustin E. Mandrell, 26, of Clinton, Illinois, to serve 50 years in federal prison for producing and possessing images of child pornography while designated as a sex offender.

On Oct. 25, 2010, Mandrell entered pleas of guilty to having coerced a minor in August 2009, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct. At the time of the offense, Mandrell had a prior sex offense conviction in Illinois. Mandrell has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest in October 2009 on the federal charges.

On Dec. 14, 2009, co-defendant Ruby Roberts, 20, of Sullivan, Illinois, pled guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Roberts was sentenced on Apr. 12, 2010, to serve 30 months in prison with eight years under supervised release upon completion of her prison sentence.

The charges are the result of an investigation by U.S. Secret Service and members of a working group including the Bloomington Police Department and Illinois State Police; and with the assistance of the Clinton Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.