Columbia Man Pleads to Distribution of Child Pornography

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Dennis Michael Martin, age 51, of Columbia, South Carolina, pled guilty in federal court in Columbia, South Carolina, for Distributing Child Pornography, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252S(a)(5)(B).  United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs, of Columbia, accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Martin was on supervised release after serving a seventy-eight month sentence for possessing child pornography when the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received notice from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that Martin might be sharing child pornography on the internet. Further investigation revealed that Martin had been distributing and receiving child pornography for approximately one year while on supervised release. U.S. Attorney Drake stated the maximum penalty Martin could receive is a sentence of imprisonment not less than 15 years nor more than 40 years plus a fine of $250,000 and supervised release of not less than 5 years.

The case was investigated by agents of ICE.  Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day II of the Columbia 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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