Joel J. McClure, a 38-year-old resident of Columbia City, Indiana, has been sentenced to 420 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of children. The sentence was handed down by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady.
McClure received a 300-month sentence for the charge of sexual exploitation of children and an additional consecutive 120 months for committing the offense while registered as a sex offender. He will also serve five years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
Court documents indicate that McClure used the internet to solicit a fourteen-year-old girl to produce and send him child sexual abuse material, which he later distributed online. He arranged to meet the victim in person, providing her with vape pens and THC gummies in exchange for sexual contact. At the time of these offenses, McClure was already a registered sex offender due to a prior conviction involving a child in Texas.
“Joel McClure is a sexual predator of the worst kind,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Proctor. “He abused a child in Texas, was convicted of that crime, and was required to register as a sex offender. Yet those severe consequences failed to deter him from ensnaring another child in his web of lies and then exploiting that child for his own perverse gratification. In other words, he has shown that only a long prison sentence will keep our families safe from his depredations. Thankfully, the exceptional work of this Office and our Project Safe Childhood partners secured a 35-year sentence that will lock him away in a place where he can do no more harm to our nation’s children.”
“This sentence reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed and the lifelong impact they have on victims,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “The FBI will never stop working to protect children and hold predators accountable - we will relentlessly pursue anyone who seeks to harm the most vulnerable among us.”
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Allen County Sheriff’s Department/FBI Task Force, Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Department, Schaumburg (Illinois) Police Department, Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, Whitley County Prosecutor’s Office, and Cook County (Illinois) Prosecutor’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey R. Speith prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 aimed at protecting children from exploitation and abuse by coordinating efforts across federal, state, and local agencies. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
