Marshall County Man Charged With Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor

Peoria, Ill. — A federal grand jury has returned an indictment that charges Brian A. Miller, 35, of Varna, Ill., with 25 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The indictment, returned late yesterday, also seeks the criminal forfeiture of Miller’s cell phone and data storage device, alleging that said items were used in the commission of the alleged offenses and that the equipment was manufactured and transported in interstate and foreign commerce.

Miller was previously arrested and charged with one count of the same offense in a criminal complaint filed Aug. 29, 2013. At a hearing on Sept. 9, before U.S. Magistrate Judge John A. Gorman, Miller waived his detention hearing and was ordered to remain detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint alleges that Miller used a cell phone to take images of minors from a hole in the wall of his home while the minors were using a shower. The indictment returned today alleges that from about Jan. 1, 2010 through June 16, 2012, on 25 occasions, Miller used minors to produce images of child pornography.

If convicted, the statutory penalty for sexual exploitation of a minor in the production of child pornography is not less than 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison. The offense also carries a term of supervised release of up to life following any term of imprisonment.

The charge is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service; the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office and the Bloomington Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk D. Schoenbein is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

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.