Illinois Man Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison

HAMMOND- Philip A. Rice, 44, of Dolton, Illinois was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon upon his plea of guilty to production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch. 

Mr. Rice was sentenced to 210 months in prison followed by 5 years supervised release.

According to documents in the case, the defendant induced a minor female to engage in sexually explicit activity online via Facebook Messenger on multiple occasions when the female was between the ages of 10 to 12 years old. Law enforcement learned about the incident when a concerned citizen found the defendant’s abandoned mobile phone at a strip club in Indiana and reported it to police after finding disturbing images of child pornography on the device. Further forensic investigation revealed that the defendant possessed over 200 images of child pornography.

“Mr. Rice received a long prison sentence today for preying on children to satisfy his devious urges,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II.  “We have always been very active in arresting and prosecuting those who commit crimes against children and this will continue.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigations with the assistance of the Indiana State Police and Lake Station Police.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Molly Kelley and Abizer Zanzi.