Last week, a former Ypsilanti man was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after having pled to production of child pornography involving a three-year-old victim, and committing an enumerated sex offense against a child while being on the sex offender registry, says United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
The man, Matthew Leon Vaughn, 33, was sentenced by US District Judge Nancy G. Edumunds. After serving his prison sentence, he will spend the rest of his life on supervised release, states a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
“I continue to be astonished by the prevalence and severe nature of child exploitation cases." McQuade said. "We are very grateful for the dedication of agents and prosecutors who work to rescue children from the predators who abuse them."
Court records show that the FBI agents in Alaska began investigating Vaughn as part of a group of individuals who obtained child pornography from a shared cloud storage system. The investigation led to the identification of Vaughn, who at the time was living in Ypsilanti.
The Detroit FBI searched Vaughn’s Ypsilanti apartment, and recovered several pieces of computer media, a release states. A forensic analysis of the computer media revealed a large collection, more than 30,000 images and 3,000 videos, of child pornography.
An FBI agent in Detroit dug through Vaughn’s collection, and eventually identified child pornographic images Vaughn took inside his Ypsilanti apartment of a three-year-old girl that had been in his care.
Vaughn was arrested by the FBI in Toledo, Ohio, where he moved after the execution of the Ypsilanti search warrant, the release states.
“As both an FBI Special Agent and father, I find the actions of this young victim’s family member to be of the most heinous one could imagine”, said David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Division. “Children are among the most vulnerable and innocent victims of crimes. These types of crimes are sometimes perpetrated by relatives, caretakers and others who are considered to be responsible adults in their lives. The FBI considers the investigation and prosecution of sexual predators who commit crimes against children, one of its top priorities.”
Previously, in 2003, Vaughn was convicted in state court for possession of child pornographic material. As a result of this conviction, he was registered as a sex offender when he produced child pornography in Ypsilanti.
The case was investigated by the FBI in Alaska, Detroit, and Toledo, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin M. Mulcahy.
