Colleton County Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Child Pornography Offenses

Contact Person: Dean H. Secor (843) 266-1654

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Michael Robert Bixby, age 32, of Cottageville, South Carolina was sentenced today in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, to a total of 360 months (30 years) for Receipt of Child Pornography, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2), and Possession of Child Pornography, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).  Last March, Bixby plead guilty to those counts pursuant to a plea agreement in which Bixby agreed to a total sentence of 360 months (30 years).  Senior United States District Judge Patrick Michael Duffy of Charleston sentenced Bixby to 360 months and 240 months in federal prison on those counts, respectively, to run concurrently. Judge Duffy also ordered Bixby to serve a lifetime term of supervised release after he is released from prison.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Bixby engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a minor female in Colleton County on August 4, 2012, and he used a cell phone to take pictures of that conduct.  When deputies with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office arrested Bixby in North Charleston on August 9, 2012, those pictures were on his cell phone along with other images of child pornography that Bixby received from the internet, including images of prepubescent minors. At the time of the offenses, Bixby was a registered sex offender who had recently moved from Indiana to South Carolina without notifying Indiana or South Carolina authorities.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Dean H. Secor of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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