April 29, 2024
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DeKalb man sentenced to 25 years for sexually exploiting children

DeKalb man used Snapchat to solicit photos, videos of child sexual abuse: Records

By Kelsey Rettke
The Stanley J. Roszkowski U.S. Courthouse is pictured in Rockford.

The Stanley J. Roszkowski U.S. Courthouse is pictured in Rockford. (Hannah Meisel)

DeKALB – A judge on Friday sentenced a DeKalb man to 25 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children, including by using the social media platform Snapchat.

Marquese L. Cannon Jr., 24, pleaded guilty Oct. 5, 2023, to a charge of producing child sexual abuse images, according to federal court records filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois out of Rockford.

In exchange for his plea, Judge Iain D. Johnston sentenced Cannon to 25 years in prison and a lifetime of court-supervised release. Johnston also ordered Cannon to pay $34,000 in restitution to six victims, according to a news release.

Cannon was 22 when he began communicating online with a 12-year-old in April 2022, according to federal court records filed May 23, 2022.

Cannon used Snapchat to communicate with the child and sent the child money via the digital app CashApp to solicit sexually explicit photos and videos from the child, according to a criminal complaint filed May 23, 2022, by the FBI.

A warrant for Cannon’s arrest was issued that same day, federal court records show. Cannon was indicted by a federal grand jury June 14, 2022.

In addition to the Snapchat content, which depicted child sexual abuse, police also found that Cannon had hundreds of images on his phone depicting child sexual abuse, according to a news release.

Authorities from the DeKalb Police Department, the FBI’s Chicago Field Office and the Northern District of Illinois U.S. State’s Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation.

Cannon’s sentence was announced Friday by Morris Pasqual, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler Jr., special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Chicago office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica S. Maveus led the prosecution, according to the release.

Crime tips and reports of child sexual abuse and exploitation are collected through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is available 24/7.

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