A Sacramento man has been sentenced to three decades behind bars for the sexual exploitation of a child, a sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith reports. The individual in question, Michael Buchno-Factor, 36, received a 30-year prison sentence followed by a life-term of supervised release, and he must also pay $29,000 in restitution.
Based on the information disclosed in court documents, Buchno-Factor is no stranger to law enforcement, having a previous conviction related to abusive sexual contact with a minor and while being on parole, agents discovered cellphones in his possession through which he admitted to using encrypted messaging and social media to engage in his illicit activities thereafter, they conducted a further search that uncovered child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the devices, including disturbing images of a minor girl in a foreign country along with messages soliciting sexually explicit conduct from the minor victim.
According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Buchno-Factor was actively distributing the illegal material, and the investigation which led to his sentencing was a combined effort by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Yang prosecuting the case.
A crucial part of a broader push against the rise of child exploitation, this case falls under the umbrella of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched back in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at tackling the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse and bringing together federal, state, and local efforts to track down and bring to justice those who prey on children and, equally to help identify as well as rescue the victims.
