Todd Robert Michels, a 54-year-old resident of Washington City, Utah, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and will be under lifetime supervised release. This follows his admission to attempting to receive images of child sexual abuse.
Court documents reveal that on November 3, 2023, Michels engaged in online communication with an individual he believed was the father of a seven-year-old boy. In reality, this person was an undercover officer. During these interactions, Michels expressed his desire to sexually abuse the officer's supposed son and requested explicit photographs of the child. The two arranged a meeting where Michels intended to assault the boy. Upon arriving at the designated location, Michels was arrested.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah announced the sentencing.
The investigation was conducted by The FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force alongside Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Burton from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah led the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project brings together federal, state, and local resources to find and prosecute those exploiting children online while also working to identify and rescue victims. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
