Cincinnati Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for Possessing 13,000 Child Pornography Images and 6,000 Videos on His Computer

CINCINNATI—Michael Lewis Bohannon, 52, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 210 months’ imprisonment and was ordered to be under court supervision for the rest of his life for possessing more than 13,000 images and 6,000 videos of child pornography.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Division (FBI); Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis; and Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith.

Bohannon pleaded guilty on May 9, 2011 to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. According to a statement of facts filed with his guilty pleas, an investigator with the Sheriff’s Regional Electronics Computer Investigations (RECI) task force was patrolling the Internet in December 2010 and connected with Bohannon through a peer-to-peer file-sharing service, locating 41 files of likely child pornography and comparing them with a list of known child pornography files maintained in a database by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Bohannon’s home in January 2011 and seized a computer. Forensic examination of the computer uncovered more than 13,000 images and 6,000 videos of child pornography. Agents arrested Bohannon. He has been in custody since his arrest.

Bohannon waived all rights to appeal. Once he completes his prison term, he will be placed under court supervision for the rest of his life. He will be required to register as a sex offender any where he lives, works, or goes to school.

Bohannon was previously convicted of possession of child pornography in 2005 and served 40 months in prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by RECI investigators and FBI agents, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy, who prosecuted the case.