Martinsville Man Sentenced on Child Pornography Charges

Danville, VIRGINIA – A Martinsville man, who produced images and videos of himself raping a four-year-old girl, was sentenced yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Danville, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

Mario Ahlazshuna Dillard, 31, of Martinsville, Va., previously pled guilty to three counts of production of child pornography and one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. Yesterday in District Court, Dillard was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release.

According to evidence presented at today’s hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Laura D. Rottenborn, and at previous hearings, Dillard was a high-volume viewer of child pornography and a member of multiple websites that allowed him to access, download and distribute child pornography. However, Dillard’s obsession with child pornography did not stop with simply viewing images. On many separate occasions he filmed himself sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl he cared for on a regular basis.

Law enforcement recovered at least four separate videos depicting these sexual assaults. One such video, which showed the victim performing oral sex on Dillard while cartoons played in the background, was distributed by the defendant on June 9, 2015, via the media sharing application, WhatsApp Messenger.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Laura D. Rottenborn and Daniel Bubar prosecuted the case for the United States.