ST. GEORGE — A St. George man was sentenced in federal court Friday for admittedly possessing hundreds of files of child pornography – files that were discovered by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2017 and investigated in Washington County.
Mitchell Wade Anderson, 31, appeared in U.S. District Court last week via video for sentencing on one felony count of possession of child pornography – a charge he pleaded guilty to in March. Under the terms of the plea agreement, one count of transportation of child pornography was dismissed.
In an advanced plea of guilty statement signed by Anderson prior to the March hearing, he acknowledged that he not only possessed child pornography depicting children under the age of 12, but he also admitted the files were transferred across state lines via the internet.
The arrest stems from an investigation that began when a tip received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s cybertip line in November 2017 reported that someone had uploaded an image containing child pornography.
The case was forwarded to the Utah Attorney General’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children division — a multi-jurisdictional task force that investigates and prosecutes individuals who use the internet to exploit children. When agents discovered the user account originated in the St. George area, charging documents stated, the file was sent to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, an ICAC affiliate.
Anderson allegedly admitted to owning the account that contained more than 500 images and videos depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts or were nude photos of children, files he “knowingly” shared on anonymous platforms, the affidavit stated.
During a 2019 interview with St. George News following Anderson’s arrest, Washington County Sheriff’s Sgt. Nate Abbott said that all reports of child pornography or the exploitation/sexual abuse of children are high-priority investigations, but when it involves a case where active abuse is suspected and the victim is being victimized, it gets pushed to the top to prevent the child from suffering further abuse.
The case was similarly prioritized by the government when it was picked up by federal prosecutors and Anderson was indicted. He was originally charged in 5th District Court with 10 second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor shortly after his arrest in August 2019. Once the federal case was filed, the charges filed in District Court were dropped.
During the hearing held Thursday, federal prosecutor Angela Reddish-Day represented the government and said all parties involved have worked on the case, which has taken more than two years to bring to a close.
She went on to say the government would normally recommend a sentence that is closer to the high end of the guideline range as cited in the presentence report given the gravity of the pornographic images that were possessed and shared in this case.
However, she said, Anderson has been cooperative since the very beginning, and the evaluations conducted and included in the presentence report indicated the risk of Anderson reoffending was low.
Aric Cramer, Anderson’s defense attorney, also spoke during the hearing and said even though the restitution amount requested was high, he said his client stated he did not want to negotiate that issue any further. He added his client’s wishes were to not cause any more pain to the victims.
Cramer also said Anderson has read each of the victim statements.
“I think it was very hard for him to read them,” Cramer said, “but he read them.”
Cramer also asked the court to consider a sentence of 60 months, due to a low criminal history and that his client is considered a low-risk offender. He said a 60-month sentence would be sufficient to “convince” Anderson not to do this again.
Anderson also addressed the court, saying that accepting the images was a mistake “that will haunt me for the rest of my life,” adding that he was ‘truly” sorry for everything he has done.
He said he has been dealing with his addiction and has wanted to end his life more than once as the case has progressed through the courts.
“I’m not a monster,” he said before asking the court for mercy.
District Judge David Nuffer then spoke by saying the cases are “heartbreaking,” adding that child pornography is dangerous, as it continues to victimize those who are depicted in the photographs.
He also referred to the number of pornographic images and videos the defendant had in his possession, more than 200 photographs and 600 videos.
“That is a large number and shows how deeply you were into this,” Nuffer said.
The judge went on to say that while Anderson’s character and minimal criminal history would normally support a lighter sentence, that would not be the case this time since the “nature and circumstances of the offense” weighs heavily against any other factor.
As such, the defendant was ordered to serve 86 months in a federal correctional facility. Upon his release he will be placed on post-prison supervision for 25 years. The judge also ordered that Anderson be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Nuffer also told Anderson that he would have to abide by all federal sex offender registry requirements under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which requires him to register in every state in which he lives or works, carries on a trade or goes to school.
The defendant was also ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution to the victims, an issue that took a great deal of time to negotiate, as Cramer said during his comments.
Nuffer recommended that Anderson serve his time at one of three correctional facilities – Englewood in Colorado, Singleville Federal Correctional Facility in Texas or Elkton Federal Correctional Facility in Ohio – as was requested by the defense for his client’s safety.
The three prisons listed are facilities that house those convicted of child pornography or other child-related crimes.
The defendant has remained in custody in Washington County since his arrest Aug. 21, 2019, and he will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service until he is transported to the federal prison facility as designated.
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