Indiana sex offender sentenced to 24+ years’ imprisonment on child pornography solicitation charges

BENTON, Ill. - A southern Illinois district judge sentenced an Indiana man to 293 months in federal prison after he admitted to soliciting child sexual abuse material.

Bryan K. Atkins, 40, of Richmond, Indiana, pleaded guilty to two counts of solicitation of child pornography. Following imprisonment, he will serve supervised release for the rest of his life.

"Targeting children online and solicitating sexually explicit images from them will earn you a federal prison sentence," said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. "The U.S. Attorney's Office is working in lockstep with the FBI to protect children from sexual predators and will continue to pursue high penalties for offenders."

According to documents and evidence presented in court, Atkins initiated a conversation twice with an undercover FBI agent purporting to be a 13-year-old child. During the chats, the defendant asked for sexually explicit images of the minor. The charged conduct occurred on April 3 and June 16, 2024.

"The subject sought to coerce children into providing sexually explicit images, and without our agent's proactive work in this case, the subject's activities may have gone undetected until they advanced their desires," said FBI Springfield's Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. S. Johnson. "FBI Springfield continues to work tirelessly to protect our children from people like the defendant, and we will continue to prove it with actions like this."

Atkins had a prior conviction for sexual misconduct with a minor in Indiana state court.

The FBI Springfield Field Office led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Sanders prosecuted the case.