Illinois man sentenced after using tanning bed to take pictures of minors
TOULON, Ill. (WICS) — A Toulon, Illinois man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and possession of material containing child pornography.
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Jason R. Musselman, 35, was sentenced on Wednesday and his term must be served consecutive to a 120-month prison sentence for distributing and possessing child pornography.
In total, Musselman was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender once he is released. Musselman was also ordered to pay more than $60,000 in restitution to his victims. Four additional counts of production of child pornography were dismissed pursuant to Musselman’s guilty plea.
At the sentencing hearing the government presented evidence that agents with the Illinois State Police and Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant on Musselman, his residence, and his electronic devices on January 19, 2022, as part of an ongoing child pornography investigation.
The government presented evidence that Musselman had produced numerous images of child pornography in his residence between approximately 2010 and 2013 by secretly recording videos of minors using a tanning bed in his home and then using the videos to create images that displayed the minors’ genitals in a lascivious manner.
Musselman also distributed other images of child pornography on December 21, 2021, via the “Kik” internet messaging platform, including images of the sexual exploitation of prepubescent children. In total, Musselman possessed more than 600 images of child pornography.
Musselman was originally charged in Stark County, Illinois in January 2022 with nine separate counts relating to child pornography. The Stark County case was dismissed after Musselman was charged in federal court by a criminal complaint in March 2022. He entered into a plea agreement in November 2022.
