Hogsett Announces 15-Year Sentence for Tell City Man Who Possessed Child Pornography

Perry County Prosecution is the Latest for U.S. Attorney’s Project Safe Childhood

INDIANAPOLIS—Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Dallas D. Mahaney, age 51, of Tell City, has been sentenced to 180 months (15 years) in federal prison by U.S. Chief District Judge Richard L. Young. This follows Mahaney’s admission of guilt to charges that he possessed and received sexually explicit material involving minor children.

“Each time disturbing materials like this are distributed and viewed, these children are victimized,” Hogsett said. “This office’s nationally recognized prosecution team continues to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute anyone found to be engaging in such dangerous behavior.”

Mahaney admitted that between February 14 and February 17, 2012, he knowingly possessed a substantial number of videos and images that depicted minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Mahaney also admitted to downloading sexually explicit images and videos from the Internet using his computer.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who prosecuted the case for the government, Mahaney’s lengthy sentence was due in part to his 1995 conviction for child molestation. Mahaney was ordered to register as a sexual offender and will remain under law enforcement supervision for the rest of his life after he has served his prison term.

This case was the result of an effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Evansville Cyber Crimes Task Force and was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.