Todd Robert Michels, a 54-year-old resident of Washington City, Utah, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. This sentence comes after Michels admitted to attempting to receive images of child sexual abuse.
Court documents reveal that on November 3, 2023, Michels engaged in online communication with an individual he believed was the father of a seven-year-old boy. In reality, he was interacting with an undercover officer. During these exchanges, Michels expressed his desire to sexually abuse the officer's supposed son and requested explicit photographs of the child. The discussions led to an agreement for Michels to meet with the intent of assaulting the child. He was arrested upon arrival at the designated meeting location.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti from the District of Utah.
The investigation was conducted by The FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force alongside Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Burton from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah handled prosecution duties for this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project coordinates federal, state, and local resources to locate and prosecute offenders while rescuing victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.