Illinois sex offender sentenced to 25 years in prison for child pornography crimes

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois sex offender was sentenced in federal court Monday to 25 years in prison for receiving images of child pornography.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Lincoln (Illinois) Police Department.

Ronald L. Collins, 56, of Lincoln, was sentenced May 11 by U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough to 300 months in federal prison. Collins was further ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and serve a lifetime of supervised release after he completes his sentence. 

Collins pleaded guilty in January to receiving images of child pornography on his cell phone from June 2013 to May 2014. At the time Collins committed the offense, he had a prior felony conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Montgomery County, Illinois. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Childress, Central District of Illinois, prosecuted this case.

Collins has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since he was charged by federal indictment in September 2014.  He was previously in the custody of the Logan County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office. 

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.