DeKalb, Ill. Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting Children

ROCKFORD — A DeKalb, Ill. man was sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children.

MARQUESE CANNON was 22 years old in 2022 when he began communicating online with a 12-year-old girl.  The conversations began on Snapchat and continued through text messaging and phone calls.  During these communications, Cannon enticed the victim into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos of herself.  Cannon instructed the girl on what type of sexually explicit conduct should be portrayed in the photos and videos.

In addition to those videos and photos, Cannon also possessed on his phone a collection of hundreds of images of other children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Cannon pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of production of child pornography.  U.S. District Court Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed the prison term and ordered that it be followed by a lifetime of court-supervised release.  Judge Johnston also ordered Cannon to pay $34,000 in restitution to six victims.

The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr. Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The DeKalb, Ill. Police Department provided valuable assistance in the investigation. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica S. Maveus.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to https://www.missingkids.org/ or calling 1-800-843-5678.  The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.