PEORIA, Ill. – A federal court judge has handed down a prison sentence of more than 19 years to a Peoria man who allegedly downloaded and distributed 26,000 images of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm said Friday the 220-month sentence was necessary because 36-year-old defendant Michael Dupoy had an extensive criminal record and had had posted remarks online urging others who collected child porn to share ways of avoiding being caught.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Schoenbein had asked Mihm for the maximum 20-year sentence.
But defense attorney Robert Alvarado argued for a 10-year sentence, attacking the federal sentencing guidelines that would put his client behind bars for longer than if he had actually molested a child.
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