‘Predator’ gets 600-year prison sentence in child sex crimes case, Alabama feds say
An Alabama man was sentenced to spend the next 600 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two young children, both under 5 years old.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered Matthew Miller, 32, to serve 7,200 months in prison for producing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the Tuscaloosa man was charged in a 20-count indictment for coaxing two children to “engage in sexually explicit conduct” for “visual production.” A search of his electronic devices turned up 102 pornographic pictures Miller had made of the kids, according to the feds.
“Child predators seek out and victimize those that are the most innocent and vulnerable — children,” U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona said in a statement. “The sentences imposed today and yesterday in local child exploitation cases reflect the commitment of law enforcement in this district to prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law those who commit crimes against children.”
The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force worked with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crime Unit to investigate the “disturbing” case.
Miller was arrested in February 2019 when Tuscaloosa County authorities received reports of sexual abuse against a child at his home, AL.com reported. After an investigation, police arrested him on charges of sodomy, child porn and domestic violence, according to the newspaper.
Miller pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2019.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. applauded the judge’s sentence, “as Miller will spend the rest of his natural life behind prison bars.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 11:55 AM with the headline "‘Predator’ gets 600-year prison sentence in child sex crimes case, Alabama feds say."