Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal Prison for Enticing Girl To Produce Sexually Explicit Photos

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for enticing a 14-year-old girl to produce sexually explicit photos of herself and a younger sibling.

BRANDON T. HANAHAN, 26, of Bridgeview, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal child pornography charges.  U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang imposed the sentence Wednesday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

Hanahan admitted in a plea agreement that in 2016 he communicated on Instagram with the 14-year-old girl and enticed her to take sexually explicit photos of herself and send them to him.  Over the next several months, Hanahan repeatedly instructed and enticed the girl, who lived in California, to send him explicit photographs.  Hanahan also repeatedly asked the girl to send him sexually explicit photos of the girl’s younger sister, who was less than ten years old at the time.  The 14-year-old girl complied with Hanahan’s requests and sent him numerous photographs of herself and the sibling via Instagram private messaging.

Law enforcement searched Hanahan’s residence and discovered more than 200 images of child pornography on his electronic devices.

The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Sean Fitzgerald, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Orange County, Calif., Child Exploitation Task Force and the Santa Ana, Calif., Police Department.  The government was represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Malgorzata Tracz Kozaka.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to www.missingkids.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678.  The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.