Internet Predator Mark Wayne Miller Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

There is a double-edged warning in the decision handed down by Senior United States District Judge Walter H. Rice of the Southern District of Ohio.

The first warning is to parents who think their children are safe on the internet. And to parents to check on their children's internet activities. You are not invading their privacy. But you could end up saving their lives. Thank goodness no child was physically harmed by this perpetrator, but what harm he did to their psychological well being may not be know for years.

The second warning is to anyone who thinks he can get away with doing something like this. No matter how hard you try to hide your identity, you can be found and prosecuted.

Mark Wayne Miller, age 47, of Dayton, was sentenced Tuesday to a total of 300 months imprisonment followed by supervised release for the rest of his life. He had previously pleaded guilty in January,2006 to a two-count indictment charging him with one count of Sexual Exploitation of Children, arising out of Miller's successful efforts to persuade minor-age girls to engage in sexually explicit conduct for him in front of webcams, and one count of Computer Intrusion, arising out of his equally successful efforts to secretly intercept, watch, and record live webcam footage of minor-age girls, without the girls knowing that Miller was watching and recording.

He also developed sexual relationships with minor-aged females over the Internet, usually in online chat rooms. Using a fictitious name and a photo of an unknown young male, Miller pretended to be a young man and through his "chat" persuaded the minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct in front of active webcams. This is one very important item that parents should talk to their children about. Just because someone say he is a teenage, for instance, does not mean he is.

Children should be warned to never give out their personal information to anyone they meet on the internet and if they think they are in a situation where they feel threatened, they should not hesitate to let their parents know immediately. This guy did get some of the girls phone numbers and called them. Can you imagine what would have happened to those girls if he had not been bought to justice?

Not only did this sicko - there is no other word for him- record the web cam broadcasts for himself, he had the audacity to go and sell them to others.

This guy was not as smart as he thought he was his activities were exposed after one of the girls sent a love letter to the fictitious young male, addressed to Miller's former place of employment. Miller's former employer received the letter, found additional evidence relating to child pornography while cleaning out Miller's work area, contacted some of the minors, and notified local law enforcement, which contacted the FBI. Miller was taken into custody shortly thereafter. How smart can he be to leave evidence behind at his former place of employment. The parents of the children involved owe his employer a big debt of gratitude. They might even owe him their daughters' lives

Now get this Miller was on probation with the State of Ohio and was a registered sex offender when he was arrested on November 28, 2005. Miller has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshal since his arrest. Under these circumstances, 300 months(25 years) in jail Life would be fine in my opinion. I hope the girls and their families make sure he is in for the full time. If he comes up for parole, be there to testify and make sure he does not get it.

Sources:
FBI
http://www.fbi.gov/fieldnews/breaking.htm