Mental health counselor sentenced to 30 years in prison for exploiting children online

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Herndon mental health counselor was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

According to court documents, Christopher Neal Mishik, 36, is a Licensed Professional Counselor who offered telehealth counseling to patients online, including to adolescents, young adults, and families. For years, Mishik participated in various online groups that orchestrated the online sexual exploitation of children. In the summer of 2024, Mishik participated in a social media group of adult males who coordinated to produce, distribute, and receive child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The members of the group collectively and individually engaged in various tactics to produce, distribute, and receive CSAM. Mishik and members of the group lurked on young girls' social media accounts and encouraged them to engage in sexually explicit activities on camera and to participate in their larger social media group. Mishik and other group members would sometimes pose as teenage boys or girls to encourage victims to produce CSAM. Among the victims targeted by Mishik were a child with learning disabilities as well as a 10-year-old.

On Nov. 12, 2025, law enforcement searched Mishik's residence. Mishik's cellphone contained videos and photos depicting CSAM, including content saved in hidden applications. Some of the CSAM possessed by Mishik included images of toddlers.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Jeffrey L. Tyler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vanessa K. Strobbe and Lauren Halper prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-115.