Decatur Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Child Pornography Offenses

URBANA, Ill. – A Decatur, Illinois, man, Tyler D. Jeffrey, 29, of the 2100 block of East Roosevelt Ave., was sentenced on December 13, 2021, to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

At Jeffrey’s sentencing hearing, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Michael M. Mihm found that Jeffrey faced enhanced penalties based on his prior 2011 conviction for criminal sexual abuse in Macon County.

In August 2020, Jeffrey entered a plea of guilty to the indictment, which charged him with one count of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, both on November 28, 2019. Jeffrey has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest in July 2020.

Following Jeffrey’s release from prison, he will be on federal supervised release for eight years and will be required to register as a sex offender.

“The investigation and prosecution in this case was the culmination of the collective hard work of several state and federal law enforcement agencies,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris. “This is another example of the success that can be achieved from this effort.” 

The charges were investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Decatur Police Department; and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force led by the Illinois Attorney General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Peirson represented the government in the prosecution.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the 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.