Michigan man sentenced on child pornography charges

DETROIT — A Michigan man was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison Thursday for receipt of child pornography following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Brad Hoggard, 44, of Coleman, Mich., was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2010 on charges of receiving child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charges in September.

The investigation revealed that from August 2009 to September 2009 Hoggard received child pornography and stored the material on a hard drive. Agents recovered more than 600 images of child pornography on devices belonging to Hoggard. He has been detained since his arrest.

"While this sentence cannot restore the lost innocence of the children depicted in these images, it should serve as a warning to those who engage in this behavior: HSI and our partners will be relentless in our pursuit of online predators."

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Libby K. Dill.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing the HSI Tip Form. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.