Champaign Man to Serve Nearly 11 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography

 URBANA, Ill. – Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm today sentenced Mathew McDuffie, 37, of the 1500 block of Holly Hill Dr., Champaign, Ill., to serve 130 months (10 years, 10 months) in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. In rendering sentence, the court noted the humiliating and degrading sexual abuse of toddlers depicted in McDuffie’s images of child pornography.

Following McDuffie’s release from prison, he was ordered to serve 15 years on federal supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

On Jan. 6, 2021, McDuffie entered pleas of guilty to the indictment that charged him with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography on September 25 through 30, 2019. McDuffie has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest on Aug. 13, 2020.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson. The charges were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the Champaign Police Department. 

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.