Villa Grove Man Sentenced To 17 ½ Years In Prison For Sexual Exploitation Of Multiple Children

Urbana, Ill. – A Villa Grove man, whose last known address was the Knight’s Inn in Arcola, Ill., David E. Auteberry, 54, of Villa Grove, today was sentenced to 17 ½ years (210 months) for sexual exploitation of minors, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis, Central District of Illinois.  In addition, U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce ordered Auteberry to register as a sex offender for his natural life and to remain on supervised release for an additional 10 years following completion of his prison sentence. 
 

Auteberry pled guilty on September 16, 2014, to four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and agreed to the forfeiture of all of his computer media.  According to court documents, Auteberry targeted minors through a popular social networking website, posing as a teen-aged boy.  Auteberry coerced the minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct and produce images of said conduct.  Auteberry was arrested on May 2, 2014 and has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Peirson.  The charges were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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 U.S. 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.