Paxton Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Receipt, Possession of Child Pornography

URBANA, Ill. – Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid today sentenced Kenneth W. Slater, 32, of the 1000 block of S. Washington St., Paxton, Ill., to 10 years in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. In addition, Slater was ordered to pay restitution to two separate victims of the offense for a total amount of $6,000.

On July 17, 2018, Slater entered a plea of guilty to both offenses as charged in the indictment, which was returned by the grand jury in February 2018.

Slater was arrested on Jan. 16, 2018, in Paxton, after being charged in a criminal complaint with the same offenses. During a court appearance on Jan. 19, 2018, Slater was ordered detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson represented the government in the prosecution. The charges were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bloomington Police Department.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.