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Press Release

Altamont Man Sentenced For Identity Theft, Extortion, And Child Pornography Offenses

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois

On March 7, 2016, Stephen B. Mislich, 24, of Bowling Green, Ohio, formerly of Altamont, Illinois, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison for identity theft, extortion, and child pornography offenses, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois James L. Porter, announced today.

"Clearly, the Court was as concerned for these victims as we were. This was a brutal crime which involved the utter degradation and cyber rape of these victims. Mislich’s actions were certainly deserving of the punishment meted out. The Court showed true courage in delivering the sentence that it did." noted Acting United States Attorney Porter.

Evidence at his sentencing hearing established that Mislich stole the online identity of a victim from Effingham County, Illinois, and then used that identity to extort and attempt to extort nude images and videos from several other victims in the area. One of the victims was 16 years old at the time of the offense and the images Mislich forced her to produce constituted child pornography under federal law. Besides the almost 20 year sentence, the Court also ordered Mislich to spend the rest of his life on Supervised Release and ordered him to pay a $2,000.00 fine.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Effingham Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas E. Leggans.

Updated March 7, 2016