URBANA, Ill. – A rural Douglas County, Ill., man, Dennis H. West, was sentenced today to 26 years in prison for committing sex crimes against minor girls. West, 44, of Atwood, Ill., a rural community approximately 30 miles east of Decatur, Ill., appeared before U.S District Judge Michael M. Mihm in Urbana. Judge Mihm ordered that West remain on supervised release for 15 years following release from prison. West has remained in law enforcement custody since his arrest in March 2019.

On Sept. 9, 2019, West pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of minors in 2017 and 2018. According to court documents, West began grooming the minors when they were in junior high school. West paid the children to engage in sex acts and to send pictures to him of sexually explicit conduct.  

The charges were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the police departments of Atwood, Tuscola, Arthur, and Decatur, Ill., in coordination with the Piatt and Douglas County State’s Attorney’s Offices. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.