FRESNO, Calif. — A federal jury convicted Christopher Jeorge Millican, 28, of Coalinga, on Thursday for producing and receiving child pornography via the popular app, Snapchat, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents and evidence introduced during the trial, in July 2018, a parent reported to Snapchat that someone, later identified as Millican, had been engaging in inappropriate communications with an 11-year-old girl. Snapchat reviewed Millican’s account and discovered images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Snapchat reported the conduct to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which then contacted the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Fresno. Investigators identified several minors, and one of them testified at the trial that Millican had coerced her into creating and sending him sexually explicit images. At the time of the offense conduct, Millican was on active duty with the U.S. Navy.
“The conviction in this case means that the defendant will no longer be in a position to carry out his criminal acts against innocent and vulnerable children,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work tirelessly with its federal and local law enforcement partners to protect and seek justice for these young victims.”
“Safeguarding children from predators is a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations,” said HSI San Francisco/NorCal Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. “HSI is committed to working with local, state and federal partners to relentlessly pursue anyone involved in criminal behavior against children.”
This case is the product of an investigation by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, composed of Homeland Security Investigations, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Fresno Police Department, the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Hanford Police Department, and several local police agencies across the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz are prosecuting the case.
Millican is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Oct. 24, 2022. Millican faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum prison term of 50 years. He also faces a potential $250,000 fine for each count and a potential lifetime term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This case was brought as 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. Led by the United States Attorneys’ 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.