Indianapolis man sentenced 30 years for raping toddler and recording it
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man was sentenced to three decades in federal prison for raping a toddler and recording the assault on his phone, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Indiana announced on Friday.
Devon Mitchell, 37, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexually exploiting a child.
According to court documents, in February, law enforcement officers began an investigation on Mitchell for criminal activity unrelated to child sex abuse.
Investigators discovered multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse on Mitchell’s cell phone. In the video, Mitchell is shown raping a child under the age of 4 years old, who is crying during the attack.
Police say that the child was in his custody.
In April, Mitchell was arrested at his home and officers did a thorough search of his electronic devices. FBI agents found over 800 images and videos of other child sexual material Mitchell collected online, in addition to the videos he created using the toddler victim.
“Our hearts break for the violence and trauma the defendant inflicted on such a young and vulnerable child. We are deeply committed to finding the offenders who sexually exploit our children and ensuring that they are taken out of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers. “Thanks to the dedicated investigators at the FBI, IMPD, and our federal prosecutor, this victim and every other child will be protected from the defendant’s crimes for decades to come.”
FBI and IMPD investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. Judge Pratt also ordered that Mitchell be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 20 years following his release from federal prison, and pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim.
