SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Leavenworth, Kan., man was sentenced in federal court today for sexually abusing a 14-year-old victim and recording the abuse on his cell phone.

Cole Ryan Marshall, 19, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 18 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Marshall to serve the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.

On April 12, 2018, Marshall pleaded guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child. Marshall admitted that he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with a 14-year-old child victim and recorded images and videos on his cell phone. The images and videos were taken at a location in Polk County, Mo.

Marshall also admitted that he used Dropbox’s online cloud storage program to store and share child pornography.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."