Danville Man Convicted of Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography

Peoria, Ill. – A federal jury returned a guilty verdict on June 25, 2024, against Joseph A. Carpenter, 51, of Danville, Illinois, for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography. Sentencing for Carpenter has been scheduled on October 23, 2024, at 11:00 A.M. at the U.S. Courthouse in Peoria, Illinois.

Over a single day of testimony in front of Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm, the government presented evidence that, from November 2021 and into early 2022, Carpenter communicated with an individual he believed to be the father of an eight-year-old girl, via text communication applications. In those communications, Carpenter requested various child pornography images and encouraged ongoing abuse of the alleged minor.

Carpenter remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service where he has been since his arrest in 2022. At sentencing, Carpenter faces statutory penalties of 15 to 30 years of imprisonment for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child; and 5 to 20 years of imprisonment for Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography. Carpenter will also be required to register as a sex offender under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

The case investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys William J. Lynch and Timothy Bass represented the government at trial.

This case was investigated as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.