A Lena man was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of numerous children, infants and toddlers, according to information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Rockford.
Matthew Kaufman, 45, pleaded guilty in 2025 to three counts of production of child pornography.
U.S. District Court Judge Iain D. Johnston on May 14 imposed the 150-year prison term and ordered that it be followed by a lifetime of court-supervised release. Kaufman was also ordered to pay $28,000 in restitution to the victims.
According to the charges, Kaufman for more than a decade enticed multiple children to engage in sexually explicit conduct and recorded it, in some cases utilizing the social media application called Snapchat. He stored hundreds of videos and images of the abuse on his electronic devices, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A registered sex offender, Kaufman was convicted in 2008 of a felony offense for possessing child pornography. The following year, prosecutors say he began the abuse that led to his conviction and sentencing.
“Over the course of at least thirteen years, defendant, a convicted sex offender, preyed upon vulnerable children for his own sexual gratification,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Maveus argued in a sentencing memorandum. “By repeatedly and violently sexually abusing multiple young girls, defendant has proven that he is truly a predator and that each of the images and videos he created depict a crime scene.”
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Lena man gets 150 years for child sex exploitation
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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