Hartford Man Charged with Enticement of a Minor and Receipt of Child Pornography

On February 24, 2011, Mark A. Reynolds, 49, of Hartford, Illinois, was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in East St. Louis, Illinois, in a two-count indictment charging him, in count one, with enticement of a minor, and, in count two, with receipt of child pornography, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. The alleged violations took place on January 13, 2011, in Madison County, Illinois.

Trial has been set for May 10, 2011. If convicted of rnticement of a minor, Reynolds faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years up to life, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release of five years to life. In addition, because Reynolds is a registered sex offender, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment to be served consecutively to the sentence he receives on count one of the indictment. If convicted of receipt of child pornography, Reynolds faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years up to 40 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not less than five years to a lifetime term of supervised release.

An indictment is merely the method by which federal charges are lodged. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.

The case was investigated by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Metro East Cyber Crimes and Analysis Task Force. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.