Columbus man who posed as minors on Facebook sentenced to 11 years in prison for distributing child pornography

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man was sentenced in federal court today to 11 years in prison for distributing child pornography.

Michael D. Moore, 29, posed as a minor female on Facebook and sent child pornography files to a 14-year-old female.

Moore was a registered sex offender in Franklin County, as the result of a 2012 conviction for pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and importuning. In that case, Moore posed as a minor male on Facebook. After initially receiving a state community control sentence, Moore violated probation and was sentenced to nearly five years in prison.

Moore engaged in the federal offense conduct in this case seven months after being released from state custody, while he was still on state parole.

According to court documents, in September 2018, the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force forwarded two CyberTipline reports it had received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to the Franklin County ICAC Task Force.

Facebook and Google had each submitted tips to NCMEC regarding the uploading of child pornography images from Moore’s accounts.

Search warrants revealed explicit conversation between Moore (who was posing as a 12-year-old girl) and a 14-year-old on Facebook. Moore claimed to be the child in the pornography he shared with the victim.

During a search of Moore’s residence, investigators discovered four cell phones. One cell phone contained child pornography images. Three of the phones had password protection that initially prevented forensic examination and Moore refused to provide password information for the phones. Later access to two of those phones revealed additional child pornography files and a different online conversation with a victim who was 15 years old.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Vance Callender, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost; and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Heather A. Hill is representing the United States in this case.

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