TEXARKANA, Ark. - A federal judge in Texarkana is expected to privately review a video created by a defendant in a child pornography case in advance of sentencing.
Aaron Lloyd Mitchell, 22, pleaded guilty last year to production of child pornography involving a 5-year-old girl and is awaiting sentencing in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas. While Mitchell pleaded guilty to only one count involving misconduct with the 5-year-old, Mitchell's three-count indictment also alleges misconduct with a 13-year-old girl, which can be used by the court to determine an appropriate sentence under federal guidelines.
In sentencing memorandums filed in the fall by Mitchell's lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender Matthew Hill, and by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Wulff, the two sides differ in their interpretations of the evidence and in their positions on sentencing.
Wulff notes that the defense has argued the 13-year-old should not be considered a victim because a still image of her sleeping in a shirt and panties with a part of Mitchell's body in a state of arousal in the foreground doesn't include touching, as the photos of the 5-year-old in "Hello Kitty" and "Doughnut" panties do.
Wulff's memorandum states that a video acquired from Tumblr in March does show Mitchell touching the sleeping teen and includes graphic language about what he wants to do to her.
This month, U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey granted a motion filed by the government to file the video under seal in the case for an "in camera" review of the video evidence by the judge. That means the evidence won't be available to the public but is part of the record, which Hickey may review and consider at sentencing.
Mitchell's misconduct came to light following tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in November 2018.
The tip identified six photos associated with a user name on the social media and blogging site Tumblr, which appeared to be images depicting the sexual abuse of children. The tip included a warning that the individual posting the images "may be currently molesting 5-year-old and 13-year-old and posting pics."
Mitchell's Tumblr username is pornographic, refers to the sexual abuse of children and is not suitable for publication.
NCMEC received a second tip Nov. 5, 2018, from a Tumblr representative which included images identical to those received in the Nov. 3, 2018, tip. NCMEC was able to conduct an analysis of some of the images, which identified the location where they were created on an iPhone 7 Plus, and provided a report Nov. 19, 2018, detailing the findings to the FBI. The following day, NCMEC and the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Intelligence Unit contacted the FBI's Texarkana office with the information.
The images led to Mitchell's arrest Nov. 21, 2018, on the property in Foreman, Ark., where they were created.
The government's memorandum mentions a 30-year term for Mitchell while Hill's suggests a sentence of just over 17 years.
Mitchell will be required to register as a sex offender upon completion of prison time and is likely to be supervised for life by federal probation officials. A date for Mitchell's sentencing has not been scheduled.