Former Kindergarten Assistant Sentenced to 20 Years for Child Exploitation

OXFORD, Miss. - A Courtland, Mississippi, man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for transporting child sexual abuse materials using social media applications.

According to court documents, Benjamin Wilkes, 31, a former kindergarten assistant, sought out images and videos of children as young as four-years old engaging in sexual conduct then stored those images and videos in a social media cloud for ease of access. Wilkes also had a number of "up-skirt" images of children he was entrusted with from his church community. Multiple community members wrote letters of support for Benjamin Wilkes. In announcing the sentence, Senior District Judge Michael P. Mills noted that, "If the community won't protect its children, the Government has to."

In addition to 20 years imprisonment, Wilkes will serve 10 years of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender where he lives, works, or is a student.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations.

U.S. Attorney Scott Leary stated, "Child exploitation and pornography are an abomination. No ambiguity, it is evil and a civilized society cannot tolerate its existence. We, as citizens of Mississippi, must continue to work tirelessly to redress and stamp out these crimes. Thankfully, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) have taken up this cause and joined forces to push such perversion out of this great State. Keep up the excellent work."

"The sentencing of Benjamin Wilkes demonstrates the commitment of Homeland Security Investigations and our partners at the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations to track down those who exploit children," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright. "This sentence sends a clear message that those who abuse positions of trust and use technology to harm children will be held fully accountable, and we will continue to use every resource available to protect our communities."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. King prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and 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 Justice.gov/PSC