Man sentenced to 18 years in prison for child pornography

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A Decatur man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for child pornography charges.

Illinois State Police arrested 28-year-old Dustin M. Blankenship on September 11, 2024. ISP, with help from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant at a home in Decatur. The search was related to multiple cyber tips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about possession and dissemination of child sexual abuse material.

Blankenship was sentenced on two counts of child pornography, nine years for each charge, to be served consecutively.

He will be given credit for time served between September 11, 2024 and January 6, 2026.

He will be on probation for three years following his release from prison.

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