(WXYZ) — A man from Michigan was arrested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and charged with one count of child pornography, attempted manufacture of child pornography and willfully causing the manufacture of child pornography.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia and the the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced the charges Wednesday.
The case stems from alleged text communications between the defendant and a 13-year-old girl on Christmas Day in 2019, .
Mark Allen Hillis, 57, of Southgate, Michigan, allegedly met the minor thro9ugh social media, and then directed her to send him graphic images of herself by text message.
Investigators say Hillis was known as "Daddy" and "Denverpolice#666" online.
Hillis then allegedly traveled to Pennsylvania, where the minor was, and sexually assaulted the girl in a hotel room after convincing her to meet him.
“This arrest demonstrates the great lengths that dangerous child predators will go through to victimize our most vulnerable,” said Brian A. Michael, special agent in charge for HSI Philadelphia. “Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners will always prioritize bringing dangerous child predators to justice.”
Hillis faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years if convicted, with a mandatory minimum of 15 years, a mandatory minimum term of 5 years supervised released, and a fine up to $250,000.
