Troy Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography and Coercion and Enticement of a Minor

DAYTON – Michael Epley, 30, of Troy was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 240 months each on one count of production of child pornography and one count of coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Troy Police Chief Charles C. Phelps, announced the sentence imposed yesterday by United States District Judge Timothy S. Black.

Epley was indicted in February 2015 on two federal charges of committing sexual acts with children. He pleaded guilty in April 2015 to photographing himself sexually abusing a four-year-old female in 2014 and to inducing a 13-year-old female to engage in sexual activity with him after exchanging conversations and sexually explicit pictures with her over the internet between November 2013 and July 2014. Epley has two previous convictions in 2013 and 2014 involving minor children in Troy, Ohio and is currently serving a state prison sentence for the latter conviction.

Epley will be on supervised release for the rest of his life after serving his federal prison term.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation of this case by FBI agents and Troy Police investigators, and Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Healey, who prosecuted the case.