Former Peoria County Resident Sentenced to 7 ½ Years in Prison for Child Pornography Offense

Peoria, Ill. –Benjamin J. Wilson, 42, previously of Peoria, Ill, was sentenced on November 18, 2021, to 90 months’ imprisonment for possession of child pornography. 

At Wilson’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge James E. Shadid noted the significant and long-lasting impact to the child victims depicted in the videos Wilson possessed.

In September 2021, Wilson pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, with the offense alleged to have occurred in November 2019. Wilson was detained following arraignment on the indictment and was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals where he has remained since.

The statutory penalty for possession of child pornography is up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Following Wilson’s release from the Bureau of Prisons, he will be on federal supervised release for ten years and will be required to register as a sex offender.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service Central Illinois Cyber Crime Unit with assistance from the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U. S. Attorneys Paul Morris and Katherine G. Legge represented the government in the prosecution.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.