Sean P. Costello U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama
Michael Edward Terrell, 46, has been sentenced to 135 months in prison for attempting to receive and distribute child pornography. The sentencing follows his guilty plea on January 30, 2025.
As revealed in court documents, Terrell was first identified by an FBI Online Covert Employee as distributing child pornography online between August 22 and September 5, 2017. Following this, a search warrant was executed at Terrell’s residence, leading to the discovery of child pornography on his electronic devices.
Further investigation on December 3, 2019, by an ALEA SBI Special Agent revealed that Terrell was soliciting child pornography on Twitter. ALEA accessed his Twitter account, confirming that Terrell, using an explicit username, was engaging in discussions requesting “hard core” images of child pornography from other users.
The sentence, imposed by Judge Steele, includes a 15-year term of supervised release post his incarceration. During his prison term, Terrell will undergo sex offender treatment, substance abuse testing, and mental health treatment. Additionally, he is to register as a sex offender and is prohibited from any contact with minors. Terrell has also been ordered to pay $30,500 in restitution to the victims and $5,100 in special assessments.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuting the case.
This case forms part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative from May 2006 by the Department of Justice to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse. This initiative involves federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders and rescue victims. More details on Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc, and information on Internet safety education is available at https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources.
