ASHDOWN, Ark. -- A man who pleaded guilty to production of child pornography has been sentenced to 360 months in prison without the possibility of parole, according to a news release from the FBI.
Aaron Lloyd Mitchell, 25, of Ashdown, will also have 20 years supervised release, on one count of production of child pornography. Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Texarkana.
In November 2018, the FBI in Texarkana, Arkansas, received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual had uploaded to the internet multiple images depicting the sexual abuse of a five-year old girl.
The subsequent investigation identified the defendant, Mitchell, as the individual who posted the images to the internet, according to the news release.
On Nov. 21, 2018, FBI agents conducted a search of Mitchell's residence. During an interview, Mitchell admitted to producing the images of the child and uploading them to the internet.
On Dec. 13, 2018, Mitchell was indicted on multiple charges involving the sexual exploitation of a minor. On June 20, 2019, Mitchell pleaded guilty to production of child pornography.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
Led by U.S. Attorneys' 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, visit justice.gov/psc.
Aaron Lloyd Mitchell