GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Timothy Baker, age 42, of Wyoming, Michigan, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. Baker is a previously convicted sex offender who was convicted by a federal jury of multiple child exploitation offenses.
“The crime of child exploitation is so depraved in part because its victims are so vulnerable,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office, along with our law enforcement partners, commits to protect our kids and bring these offenders to justice.”
Authorities began investigating Baker in 2023, after a minor reported to local authorities that Baker had sexually assaulted her. The report triggered an investigation by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, which uncovered evidence of the assault as well as evidence that Baker had been conspiring with another adult to produce child pornography of a second victim. FBI agents followed these leads and identified a third child victim whom Baker had sexually assaulted.
Baker was arrested and ultimately charged with three federal offenses: conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, coercion and enticement of a child, and the separate crime of committing both offenses while being required to register as a sex offender. In December of 2023, a jury convicted Baker of all three offenses after a two-day trial.
“The exploitation and coercion revealed in this case was extremely disheartening,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “It is our mission to protect our youth by aggressively investigating individuals like these defendants, and we will continue this important work every day.”
Baker was investigated and prosecuted as a part of Project Safe Child, the Department of Justice’s unified and comprehensive strategy to combat child exploitation. To learn more about the Department’s interagency effort, visit the Project Safe Childhood website at https://www.justice.gov/psc/about-project-safe-childhood.
###
U.S. Department
of Justice
