Boyle County Man Sentenced for Sexually Exploiting Daughter
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 13, 2009 |
LEXINGTON, KY—A Boyle County man was sentenced today to 262 months in prison by United States Senior District Judge Joseph Hood for sexually exploiting his own 12-year-old daughter with the help of a Las Vegas man.
Hood sentenced 53-year-old Stephen Ray Meade for conspiring with co-defendant Marcus Hix out of Las Vegas, Nev., whom he met online, to produce a sexually explicit photos of Meade’s daughter. Meade believed that Hix was a young attractive adult female only to find out later that it was an adult male.
Meade received the maximum sentence possible based on the sentencing guidelines.
Meade admitted that between February and April of 2007, he sent Hix at least one nude frontal shot of his daughter. Meade also admitted to having his daughter shave her genital area and directed her to use a vibrator to break her hymen.
Meade purchased the vibrator for his daughter for the purpose of producing additional photographs of his daughter. Meade and Hix chatted online for several months about persuading Meade’s daughter to pose for photos with the vibrator inserted inside of her so they could profit off the photographs.
“You pimped out your daughter for your own sexual gratification,” said Judge Hood while imposing the sentence. “You used her as a prostitute. I personally don’t think I can give you enough time for that type of conduct.”
According to statements made in court, Hix chatted online with Meade and Meade’s daughter (at Meade’s direction) about taking sexually explicit photographs of Meade’s daughter. Meade and Hix promised Meade’s daughter a Play Station Game Console if she would pose for sexually explicit photographs.
A forensics examination of Meade’s computer revealed several images of child pornography that included children as young as five to seven years old. A search of Hix’s residence in Las Vegas revealed thousands of images of child pornography including nude photographs of Meade’s daughter.
Hix has already pleaded guilty to the same charges and will be sentenced in September.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky and for the District of Nevada, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Lexington Field Office) Nevada FBI, the Boyle County Sheriff’s department, the Boyle County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and Kentucky State Police jointly made the announcement.
The United States was represented in the case by Assistant United States Attorney Hydee R. Hawkins.
This case was brought as part of the Eastern District of Kentucky’s efforts pursuant to Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative dedicated to protecting children from online exploitation and abuse.