Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Christopher Bell, 37, of Lumberton, North Carolina, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 5 years in prison for receiving child pornography.  This term of imprisonment will be followed by 25 years of supervised release.  Bell pleaded guilty to this offense on January 3, 2023.

Beginning in approximately November 2020, Bell began exchanging sexually explicit messages with Minor A via Snapchat.  During the conversations, he repeatedly asked her to send him sexually explicit images in exchange for money.  Minor A ultimately send an explicit image of herself.  Judge Conley found that the defendant enticed and manipulated Minor A into sending the image. 

The charge against Bell was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman prosecuted this case. 

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