GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man who posted an online picture of a boy being raped – and asked viewers to send additional images, will spend 15 years in prison in a child pornography case that involved multiple victims.
“Anyone know where there is more of this boy?’’ Robert Charles-Douglas Hodge asked in an online forum called ‘Hurt Meh.’ The image of a boy being raped was viewed more than 250 times.
‘Hurt Meh’ is a child pornography forum dedicated to ‘hurtcore’ material. That material is defined as “rape, fighting, wrestling, bondage, spanking, pain, mutilation, gore and dead bodies,’’ federal court records show.
“He identified the exact child he wanted depicted in the child pornography he sought,’’ a federal prosecutor wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
The federal case sheds light on the disturbing, online world of child pornography and how pedophiles use the dark web to solicit and trade images.
Investigators say Hodge had numerous images and videos of child pornography; multiple known victims were identified in his collection.
“Mr. Hodge is sick about what he has done,’’ defense attorney Anna R. Rapa wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “He clearly understands how he broke trust . . . and how he harmed the community.’’
A federal judge this week sentenced Hodge to a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years on supervised release. Hodge also has to pay a $1,000 fine.
He pleaded guilty in September to solicitation of child pornography for activity in September of 2018. In exchange for his plea, three other charges were dismissed.
Those charges included attempted coercion and enticement for posting an online ad looking for someone to rape a 10-year-old child.
Hodge, who has no prior criminal record, was living in Stanton when the offenses occurred. “I acted with complete disregard for the interest of others and am ashamed for my repugnant behavior,’’ he wrote in a letter to the court.
Hodge was under the influence of illegal substances “and had the goal of ultimately ending his life,’’ Rapa wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
“Along the way toward that goal, he did other terrible things that both humiliated himself and put himself and others in danger,’’ Rapa wrote.
“He also sees that, rather than reaching his ultimate goal of death, he is going to be living a death-like life for the foreseeable future in prison.’’
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