DeForest Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Receiving Child Pornography

MADISON, WIS. - Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Michael Hinze, 43, DeForest, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William Conley to 18 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography.  Hinze faced a minimum of 15 years in prison for this offense because he had a prior conviction for sexual assault of a child. This term of imprisonment will be followed by 25 years of supervised release.  Hinze pleaded guilty to this offense on December 16, 2019. 

In the fall of 2018, Hinze began communicating on Kik with a man who was sexually assaulting a child in his care.  In September, that person sent Hinze a sexually explicit image of the child.

In sentencing Hinze above the advisory guidelines and statutory minimum, Judge Conley expressed concern that Hinze’s predatory nature made him a danger to children.  Judge Conley was also concerned that the defendant seemed to be living a double life in that he was portraying himself to the public as an upstanding person while grooming and attempting to gain access to children.   

The charge against Hinze was the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation – Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the DeForest Police Department.  The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman.