INDIANAPOLIS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Indiana, Southern), published as received.

INDIANAPOLIS— Melvin Anderson, 23, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to advertising child sexual abuse material and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.   

According to court documents, between December 2022 and March 2023, Melvin Anderson used the social media platform Twitter, now known as X, to advertise and sell child sexual abuse material.

Anderson ran multiple, publicly accessible accounts that advertised links to cloud-based storage folders containing over 600 videos and images of minors, including individuals under 12 years of age, being sexually abused and molested. Many of his advertisements themselves contained thumbnails of sexually explicit images, and he often provided his own CashApp and Apple Pay account names so that his customers could send him money. Most links were priced between $10 to $25 per link.

Anderson advertised as if he was running a legitimate retail business. He organized the files based on various characteristics, such as the age of the minor victims, and he based the price on what he was offering. Material with younger victims garnered a higher price. He also created videos showing himself scrolling through the folders containing child sexual abuse materials in order to give his customers a preview.

“This predator not only revictimized children by exploiting the worst days of their lives over and over again to further demand, but did so just to make a quick buck,” said John E. Childress, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “If not for the work of the Secret Service and our AUSAs, this dangerous man would still be profiting from such horrific abuse and incentivizing others to exploit and harm children.”

“Child sexual predators will be held accountable for their vile actions and the sentencing in this case demonstrates that. The U.S. Secret Service is committed to devoting its expertise and resources to protecting children from online predators and to pursuing those who try to profit from sexual abuse,” said Ike Barnes, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Indianapolis Field Office. “I am proud of the work our Secret Service personnel did in bringing this defendant to justice. I am thankful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Indiana and all those who worked on prosecuting this case for their diligent efforts.”

U.S. Secret Service investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Matthew P. Brookman. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Wood and Tiffany J. Preston, who prosecuted this case.

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

If you are a victim of child sexual exploitation, please contact your local police department. Resources for victims of child exploitation can be found on our website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/project-safe-childhood

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