Mecosta County Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Producing Child Pornography

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Patrick John Corp, 35, of Big Rapids, Michigan, was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment for sexually exploiting a child, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. Corp pled guilty on July 15 to taking sexually explicit pictures of a 15-year-old girl. The offense occurred in July 2009, in Corp’s home in Big Rapids, Michigan. Sexual assault charges were initiated in Mecosta County after the child’s parents reported the sexual assault.

Sentencing was held before the Honorable Robert Holmes Bell, U.S. District Court Judge. Judge Bell expressed his dismay at the degrading and disgusting acts perpetrated by Corp on the 15 year-old victim. Corp has a history of sexual misconduct with underage women. In 1999, Corp took graphic sexual pictures of a 17-year-old girl. His conviction was overturned by the court of appeals on jurisdictional grounds, but his conduct was part of his pattern of exploiting children. Agents also discovered that Corp took a series of pictures of himself having sex with another 13- or 14-year-old girl. Judge Bell ordered that after he is released from custody, Corp must spend the rest of his life on supervised release.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutor’s offices, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate local communities about the dangers of online child exploitation, and to teach children how to protect themselves. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit the following web site: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the FBI, Michigan State Police, Mecosta County Sheriff’s Department, Big Rapids Police Department, and the ICAC with the cooperation and assistance of the Mecosta County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru.