URBANA, Ill. – Michael D. Turner, 36, of the 1500 block of Hobson Drive in Rantoul, Ill., was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for enticement of a minor.
In April 2021, Turner entered a guilty plea to one count of enticement of a minor. According to court documents, the case arose when the Illinois State Police learned that Turner was engaging in sexually explicit online communications with a 16-year-old girl in an effort to entice her into a sexual relationship.
In November 2020, a federal grand jury returned the indictment charging Turner with enticement of a minor, following his October 2020 arrest pursuant to a criminal complaint. Also in October 2020, U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long ordered that Turner be detained pending trial. He has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.
Turner was arrested following an investigation by the Illinois State Police, which is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon O’Brien – who also is the Deputy Bureau Chief with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force – represented the government in this case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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