Gainesville Child Pornographer sentenced to 27 Years in Federal Prison

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Michael Cannon has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. Cannon photographed, and posted online, pornographic images of a minor. He then produced and provided to viewers who requested them via e-mail, additional images of him molesting two minor victims that were living in his home.

“This defendant not only molested two young girls living in his household, he further victimized them by recording his sexual abuse and then posting the images on the Internet,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Thankfully the two girls have been rescued. We hope that this case will heighten awareness of child exploitation and deter others from committing such heinous crimes.”

“The victims in this case were stripped of their innocence and dignity, viciously abused and egregiously exploited countless times as a result of being abused and recorded for the pleasure of monstrous predators,” said Special Agent in Charge Nick Annan, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta. “The defendant truly deserves every day he will sit in a federal prison cell… every day and more.”

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In mid-December 2012, Cannon posted several images of a ten-year-old girl on a foreign-based website where people could post and share photographs. At least one of the images was child pornography. Several individuals posted comments on Cannon’s photographs and asked about trading photos. Cannon gave them his e-mail address and, when they wrote him, he sent them explicit photographs showing him in the act of molesting two young girls. In return, he received dozens of e-mails containing images and videos of other children being sexually abused.

As part of their investigation, agents determined the true identities of the two minor victims that Cannon photographed and posted online. Both were living in the same house as Cannon. The girls were rescued and removed from the household.

Cannon, 34, of Gainesville, Georgia, has been sentenced to 27 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Cannon was convicted of these charges on June 16, 2014, after he pleaded guilty. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant United States Attorney Paul R. Jones prosecuted the case.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Gainesville Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.