Springfield Sex Offender to Serve 35 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography

Springfield, Ill. — A Springfield, Ill., man, Marcus B. Fifer, 44, who was convicted in October 2015 for producing child pornography, has been sentenced. On June 20, 2016, U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough ordered that Fifer serve 35 years in federal prison and remain on supervised release for the remainder of his life after his release from prison. 

A jury convicted Fifer on Oct. 30, 2015, on 17 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor to produce child pornography and one count of committing a felony offense with a minor while being required to register as a sex offender. Fifer has remained detained in U.S. Marshals’ custody since his arrest in February 2014.

At trial, the government presented evidence that from April 1, 2013 through Nov. 18, 2013, Fifer used a cell phone, tablet and laptop computer to take images of a minor. Further evidence from the government established that Fifer previously pled guilty in 2008, in Champaign County, Ill., to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and at the time of the offenses for which Fifer was convicted in October 2015, he was required to register as a sex offender.

The charges were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations in cooperation with the Springfield Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys John E. Childress and Matthew Z. Weir prosecuted the case. 

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.