Missouri man sentenced to life in prison for sexual exploitation of a child following HSI, law enforcement partner investigation

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Diamond man was sentenced in federal court for the sexual exploitation of a child following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and law enforcement partner investigation. Terry Lee Miksell, 66, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark Oct. 21, to life in federal prison without parole.

On March 29, Miksell was found guilty of one count of producing child pornography and one count of using the internet and a cell phone to induce a child to engage in sexual activity.

At the time of the offense, Miksell was employed as a counselor at a Purdy drug treatment facility and in a trusted position with the victim and her family.

Facebook initiated two CyberTips in September 2019 after locating sexually explicit messages and images between Miksell and a 16-year-old minor. Miksell asked the child in Facebook Messenger chats to send him sexually explicit images and videos. She told investigators she sent those images and videos at his request but often was reluctant to engage with the sexually explicit messages and felt bad about it. At one point she refused to send an image and Miksell used manipulation tactics to get her to continue to engage and send those images. Miksell also sent pornographic pictures of himself to the child.

Officers executed a search warrant at Miksell’s residence Jan. 16, 2020, and seized several devices, including a cell phone. The cell phone contained a pornographic video of the child.

This case was investigated by HSI and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James J. Kelleher, Stephanie Wan, and Ami Harshad Miller.

Learn more about HSI’s mission to combat child exploitation in your community, on Twitter @HSIKansasCity.

HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

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.