Michael Martinez, a 30-year-old resident of Camby, Indiana, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to distributing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
In May 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children referred a cyber tip to the Indiana Crimes Against Children Task Force. The tip reported that a user identified as “the_goose_boi” uploaded 28 files containing suspected child sexual abuse material using the Kik messaging app. Law enforcement investigators identified Martinez as the individual behind this activity. Records from Kik showed that Martinez sent numerous messages discussing child pornography and expressing sexual interest in children. Among his messages were: “I’d 100% date a 10-year-old girl if it was legal lol,” and “Can we all just agree preteen girls are sexy and they should be able to do anything a woman can do.”
Martinez had previously been convicted in June 2020 in Marion County for possession of child pornography and child exploitation. He received a sentence of five years’ incarceration and four years of Sex Offender Probation. At the time of his latest offense, he was still on probation.
“Michael Martinez is a known predator who chose to victimize children again while still on probation from a prior offense where he had been banned from even accessing the internet. His actions were brazen, disturbing, and deeply dangerous,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Thanks to the relentless efforts of the U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and our dedicated federal prosecutors, we have removed a sexual predator from our community and sent a clear message that we will not tolerate the exploitation of our children.”
“The U.S. Secret Service is committed to stopping child sexual predators who harm innocent victims. The sentencing in this case illustrates the heinous nature of this repeat offender’s crimes against vulnerable children,” said Ike Barnes, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Indianapolis Field Office. “I am proud of the work of the Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations in bringing this person to justice. Thanks to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Indiana for its efforts in prosecuting this case.”
The investigation was conducted by both the U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Eakman as prosecutor.
The case also involved work by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force—a multiagency group led by Indiana State Police focusing on internet-facilitated child exploitation crimes—and highlights their ongoing efforts evaluating thousands of tips each year; more information about their work is available at https://www.internetcrimesagainstkids.com.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating online child sexual exploitation through collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies.
Victims or those seeking resources related to child exploitation are encouraged to contact local law enforcement or visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/project-safe-childhood for support.
