Ashdown man sentenced to 30 years following FBI investigation

Submitted by Patrick Massey of KDQN.net

An Ashdown man was sentenced last month to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by 20 years’ supervised release, on one count of Production of Child Pornography.

According to court documents, in November of 2018 the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Texarkana, Arkansas received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual had uploaded to the internet multiple images depicting the sexual abuse of a five-year old female.

The subsequent investigation identified the defendant, 25-year-old Aaron Llyod Mitchell, as the individual who posted the images to the internet. On November 21, 2018, FBI agents conducted a search of Mitchell’s residence. During a post-Miranda interview, Mitchell admitted to producing the images of the five-year-old and uploading them to the internet. On December 13, 2018, Mitchell was indicted on multiple charges involving the sexual exploitation of a minor.  Mitchell pleaded guilty to production of child pornography the following year.

The sentencing portion of Mitchell’s case was held in February. 

The FBI led the investigation into Mitchell.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case while Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Texarkana.