A Peoria, Illinois, man, Randall R. Ray IV, 33, was sentenced on May 10, 2022, to 14 years in prison for possession of child pornography.
According to court filings, in July 2021, Ray produced and possessed a video that depicted a minor child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Another individual found the video in Ray’s phone and notified authorities.
Ray was indicted in August 2021 and pleaded guilty in January 2022. He has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his indictment.
The statutory penalties for possession of child pornography are up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a maximum $250,000 fine, and a five-year to life term of supervised release.
The United States Secret Service and the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Hollingshead-Cook represented the government in the prosecution.
The case against Ray was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of 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.
