BENTON COUNTY MAN SENTENCED FOR TRANSPORTATION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 27, 2012

Fayetteville, Arkansas- Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of
Arkansas, announced today that Michael Andreasen of Benton County, was sentenced today to 9
years imprisonment for Transportation of Child Pornography. United States District Court Judge
Jimm Larry Hendren ordered Cannon to pay $10,000.00 in fines and to serve 10 years supervised
release upon his release from prison.
United States Attorney Conner Eldridge commented, “We will continue to aggressively
prosecute those who victimize our children. This case shows that we will cooperate to use all
possible resources from local, state, and federal law enforcement and prosecutors to target
individuals who commit criminal acts such as this.”
According to court documents, from September through November of 2010, the Benton
County Sheriff's Office conducted an investigation relating to a runaway juvenile case. At that time,
the mother of the minor reported that her daughter was missing and believed to have left the state
with an adult male who was later identified as the defendant, Michael Andreasen.
Over the course of a several month investigation, the Benton County Sheriff's department
located the missing female and apprehended Andreasen. During a post Miranda interview,
Andreasen admitting to taking the juvenile from her home and transporting her outside the state.
Upon further questioning, he also admitted that he was in possession of “deleted” nude photos of the
minor. A subsequent forensic examination of his phone revealed numerous images, which were not
deleted, of the minor and Andreasen engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Through the investigative
efforts of the Benton County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Homeland Security
Investigations, it was determined that these images of the minor were produced by Andreasen while
traveling from Hershey, Pennsylvania to Goshen, Indiana.
On July 7, 2011, February 3, 2012, Andreasen pleaded guilty to the one count Transportation
of Child Pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252. This case was investigated by the Benton
County Sheriff's Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney
Dustin Roberts prosecuted this case for the United States.
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