Orion Township Man Sentenced to 15 Years For Distributing Child Pornography

DETROIT – An Orion Township man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for distributing images of child pornography over the internet for the purpose of trading such images with other child predators, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Ison was joined in the announcement by James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Arron Robert Muhlitner, 27, was sentenced by United States District Judge David M. Lawson. Muhlitner had pleaded guilty to sending images of minors engaged in sexual acts to another person in order to induce that person to send Muhlitner similar images. Muhlitner used the internet messaging application Kik to trade the child pornography.

Muhlitner’s offense was discovered when an individual he knew found a phone belonging to Muhlitner and reviewed it. That person discovered images of child pornography and a conversation in which Muhlitner bragged about sexually assaulting a child in a manner that was similar to a sexual assault that he had previously been accused of committing. Law enforcement later examined the phone, finding numerous images of child pornography and multiple instances in which Muhlitner bragged about sexually assaulting children or expressing a desire to engage in sex acts with children. In total, Muhlitner’s phone contained 212 images and 58 videos of child pornography.

“Child pornography victimizes the most vulnerable and innocent in our community and protecting children from predators remains a critical mission for our office,” stated U.S. Attorney Ison. “Our community is now safer with this defendant’s lengthy sentence.”

“The significance of this sentence underscores the importance of keeping innocent children safe from dangerous predators and serves as a warning to those individuals who prey upon the most vulnerable in our society,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “I would like to thank our law enforcement partners for their critical support in this investigation. The FBI continues to dedicate resources to the investigation and prosecution of sexual predators who commit crimes against children.”

“This person and his disgusting and abhorrent criminal behavior with children has rightfully been held accountable for his actions,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “I greatly appreciate the teamwork with our federal partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing this case to closure.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeremiah Smith and Christopher Rawsthorne.