A Fairbanks man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and will serve 25 years on supervised release for attempting to produce child pornography and entice a minor. According to court documents, Dahkota Mitchell, 32, engaged in conversations with an undercover law enforcement official posing as a 12-year-old girl from July 7 to November 28, 2023. The interactions included requests for explicit content and plans for an in-person meeting.

Mitchell intended to meet the undercover official and requested that she bring an 11-year-old friend. Plans were made for a meeting in Anchorage on November 17, but communication ceased abruptly before it could occur. Communication resumed on November 25 when Mitchell explained his mother had discovered their exchanges. He arranged another meeting on November 28 at his hotel in Anchorage, where he was subsequently arrested.

Mitchell pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor on October 25, 2024. U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker stated, "Child predators target Alaska’s most vulnerable, leaving lasting harm in their wake... This sentence ensures that he will be closely monitored for many years."

Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office emphasized the priority of protecting children from online predators: "As demonstrated in this case, predators using the Internet for sexual exploitation of children will be identified and held accountable."

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Anchorage Field Office and Anchorage Police Department under the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Vosacek prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse.