Former Navy Sailor Sentenced to More than 47 Years in Prison for Production and Receipt of Child Pornography

FRESNO, Calif. — Christopher Jeorge Millican, 29, of Coalinga, was sentenced today to 47 years and six months in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for producing and receiving child pornography via the popular instant messaging app, Snapchat, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in July 2018, a parent reported to Snapchat that a user, later identified as Millican, had been engaging in inappropriate communications with her 11-year-old daughter. Snapchat reviewed Millican’s account and discovered images and videos depicting another, then 15-year-old minor, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Snapchat reported the conduct to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which contacted the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Fresno. Investigators identified the minor victim, who informed them that Millican had coerced her into creating and sending him these images. At the time of the offense conduct, Millican was on active duty with the U.S. Navy.

“Millican pursued a methodical and repetitive course of conduct, exploiting or attempting to exploit multiple minors to satisfy his own deviant sexual fantasies,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “Today’s significant sentence reflects the serious and harmful nature of Millican’s crimes and should deter him from engaging in similar criminal conduct in the future. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work tirelessly with its federal and local law enforcement partners to pursue all like-minded offenders and seek justice for these young victims.”

“Safeguarding children from predators like Millican is a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations,” said HSI San Francisco/NorCal Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. “As this sentence proves, these heinous crimes against children will not be tolerated. HSI works with the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to relentlessly pursue anyone involved in this criminal behavior.”

This case was the product of an investigation by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, composed of Homeland Security Investigations, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Fresno Police Department, the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Hanford Police Department, and several local police agencies across the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa and Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc.