(WFRV) – Federal officials say a man from Menasha will now spend the next 180 months behind bars for the production of child pornography involving an 11-year-old from Maryland.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 22-year-old Lawrence J. Chase began messaging online with an 11-year-old from Maryland in March and had coerced the child into sending him pictures of their genitalia.
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Officials say Chase had also sent inappropriate and obscene images of himself to the 11-year-old while also engaging in sexualized conversations.
Noting the seriousness of the offense and the age of the child, along with Chase’s other prior state convictions related to crimes against children, a judge weighed the evidence and arguments in court and decided a 15-year prison sentence for the Production of Child Pornography was fair and just.
This defendant took the innocence of a child who will never get that part of their childhood back. As a consequence, he will lose a decade and a half of his life to a federal penitentiary. Every pedophile that harms our children should know law enforcement is working night and day to catch them and punish them.
U.S. District Court Judge Byron B. Conway
Following his release from federal prison, Chase will also be subject to a 10-year supervised release and must register as a sex offender under state and federal law.
