December 19, 2023 – FRESNO, CA — Michael Brace, 33, of Modesto, was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison for two counts of receipt and distribution of material involving the exploitation of minors, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. The prison sentence is to be followed by 10 years of supervised release during which Brace’s access to computers, the internet, and minors will be restricted.

According to court documents, between Aug. 7, 2020, and Jan. 4, 2021, Brace knowingly received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including images of prepubescent minors and violence being inflicted on victims. Brace also communicated with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 13-year-old female on the social media platform Skout and traveled to Fresno with the belief that he would engage in sexual activity with the purported minor.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Central Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the Fresno and Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Offices, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.

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 those who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.