A man from Silver Spring, Maryland, has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for child exploitation offenses involving more than 100 minors. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang imposed the sentence on Chase William Mulligan, age 28, who was also ordered to serve 25 years of supervised release after his prison term.
Mulligan was convicted on two counts of producing child sexual abuse material. According to court documents, he met young girls through social media and internet chat rooms and coerced them into sending sexually explicit images and videos. The victims ranged in age from 5 to 17.
Authorities said Mulligan targeted at least 108 girls using various online platforms, including Snapchat, Discord, Roblox, Skype, Omegle, and Instagram. His victims were located not only in the United States but also in Canada, Denmark, Spain, the Philippines, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
When some victims told Mulligan they did not want to send further images, he threatened to post their photos online or come to their homes if they refused his demands. In several instances, Mulligan instructed minors to perform graphic acts on camera.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentencing with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.
"This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse," according to the press release. "Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims."
Hayes commended the FBI for its investigative work and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan S. McKoy and Elizabeth Wright for prosecuting the case.
Additional information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at justice.gov/psc; resources on internet safety education are also available on that site under the “Resources” tab.
For details about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office initiatives or community outreach programs visit www.justice.gov/usao-md or https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
