Danville man sentenced to 180 months for attempted child pornography

Oct. 25 – Joseph Allen Carpenter, 52, of Danville, was sentenced Wednesday in Urbana to 180 months in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, for attempted sexual exploitation of a child and attempted receipt of child pornography.

Carpenter was convicted of the crimes following a jury trial in June 2024.

During the sentencing hearing, the government highlighted evidence from the jury trial showing that from November 2021 through early 2022, Carpenter communicated via text messaging communications applications with an individual he believed to be the father of an eight-year-old girl. In that communication, Carpenter solicited several child pornographic images and encouraged abuse of the alleged minor.

Also during the hearing, Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm ruled that Carpenter’s offense should be considered more serious than others due to his attempt to exploit a person he believed to be a child under the age of twelve . Judge Mihm noted that he found Carpenter’s conduct “reprehensible.”

The legal penalties for attempted sexual exploitation of a child are a minimum of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and life in prison under supervision. The legal penalties for attempted receipt of child pornography are a minimum of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a lifetime of supervised release.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William J. Lynch and Timothy A. Bass represented the government in the prosecution.

This case was investigated as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of 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 deploys federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online. identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov