Monday, July 21, 2008

Former Sheriff Sentenced to 210 months for Transmitting Child Porn

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced today that MICHAEL WADE KENT, 52, of Ponca City, Oklahoma, was sentenced to serve 210 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for using the internet to transmit child pornography. Kent was a former Deputy Sheriff in Kay County who was indicted last July by a federal grand jury.

At his plea hearing in December of 2007, Kent admitted that on February 21, 2007, he sent a video clip of a 12-13 year old girl engaged in oral sex using the internet. The person to whom he sent the video was an undercover FBI agent.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online 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 via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

The case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Sengel.

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