Las Vegas, Nevada - A former Henderson resident pleaded guilty Friday to distributing images of child pornography, some of which were tweeted to his followers, announced U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson of the District of Nevada.
Mark Alan Stoneking, 40, previously of Henderson, Nevada, now a resident of Elyria, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography. United States District Judge Richard Boulware II accepted the guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for May 31, 2018.
According to the plea agreement, Stoneking admitted that, on December 20, 2014, and January 6, 2015, he distributed using a Twitter account sexually explicit photos of children. On January 12, 2016, the Henderson Police Department and members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at his residence in Henderson and seized electronic devices containing more than 600 videos and more than 200,000 images of child pornography.
The minimum statutory penalty is five years in prison and the maximum statutory penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Stoneking will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Henderson Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Lopez is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and obscenity Section, 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.