Columbia Resident Sentenced to Federal Prison for Second Child Pornography Conviction

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Dennis Michael Martin, 53, of Columbia, South Carolina, was sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography.  

Evidence presented to the court showed that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a report through its CyberTipline that an email address was being used to upload child pornography to the internet on April 16, 2016. Further investigation revealed the email address belonged to Martin, who was a registered sex offender already under supervision by the United States Probation Office for a prior federal conviction for possession of child pornography.  Martin also has a prior state conviction for Child Molestation in the Second Degree. 

A search of Martin’s residence revealed that he had secretly purchased cell phones to access the internet to collect and distribute child pornography. The cell phones contained 26 videos and 2,544 images of child pornography.

United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs sentenced Martin to 188 months in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system. Following his release, Martin will remain under court-ordered supervision for life. He will be required to register as a sex offender, attend sex offender treatment, submit to computer monitoring, refrain from any unsupervised contact with minors, and submit to random polygraph examinations.

Agents of the Department of Homeland Security investigated this case, which was prosecuted 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.  Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day, II, of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.       

#####