A Fairview Heights man, Andrew Gerald Millas, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court in East St. Louis on October 2, 2012, to three counts of production of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Production of child pornography carries a term of at least 15 years and up to 30 years’ imprisonment, and transportation of child pornography is punishable by a term of imprisonment of five to 20 years. Both offenses carry a fine of up to $250,000, and a supervised release term of five years to life.
A factual stipulation filed with the court at the time of the guilty plea revealed that, in December, 2011, detectives of the Boise, Idaho Police Department engaged Millas in online chats after they became concerned with his postings on a website that offered child pornography for distribution. Millas sent the undercover officers still images of child pornography he had manufactured and also broadcast a live sex act with a minor to them via a webcam. The Boise Police Department quickly forwarded the investigative lead to the Fairview Heights Police Department, and Millas was promptly arrested. Forensic analysis of computer equipment seized from Millas by the FBI revealed voluminous digital evidence to be examined, including 14,560 multimedia files, over 900,000 image files, and 21,232 recovered image files depicting screen shots captured by a keystroke logger program. Among the files recovered were movies depicting Millas having sexual relations with a 16-year-old child and other movies that Millas made through surreptitious filming that depicted other minors engaging in sexual conduct.
Millas has been in custody since his arrest on December 30, 2011. Sentencing is set for January 14, 2012, at 8:00 a.m. in federal court in East St. Louis.
The investigation was conducted by the Boise, Idaho Police Department; the Fairview Heights Police Department; and the Collinsville Police Department, which has a detective assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cybercrime Task Force. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, in which the United States Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with federal and state law enforcement authorities, is actively investigating and prosecuting individuals who are involved in the exploitation of children. The case is being prosecuted by United States Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton and Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne M. Garrison.
