Lafayette Man Sentenced to 240 Months in Prison

HAMMOND – Richard Allan Joesph Crowley, 32 years old, of Lafayette, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after pleading guilty to Production, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Crowley was sentenced to 240 months in prison, 15 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $15,000 assessment for victims of these crimes.

According to documents in the case, on or about May 16 through May 17, 2021, Crowley produced sexually explicit content of a minor by persuading, inducing and enticing the minor to photograph their genitals and send those images to Crowley through the internet.  Crowley further distributed at least one of these images through a group chat.  On multiple occasions between May 1 and June 30, 2021, Crowley received child sexual abuse material of another minor through the internet.  And finally, on or about June 8, 2022, Crowley possessed child sexual abuse material of an additional minor that was produced using a cell phone.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indianapolis Field Office/Lafayette Resident Agency, with assistance from the FBI Criminal Investigation Division/Child Exploitation Operational Unit, the FBI Boston Field Office/Portland Resident Agency, the City of Sioux Falls Police Department, the West Virginia State Police, the Indiana State Police Digital Forensic Unit, the Tippecanoe County High Tech Crime Unit, the Lafayette Police Department, and the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily Morgan.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.