Three-time convicted sex offender Cory Todd Cox, 38, from Noblesville, has received a 15-year sentence in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for his latest transgressions involving child sexual abuse material. According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Cox pled guilty to two counts of receipt and distribution of such illicit content.
The investigation revealed that on November 28, 2023, while on probation for a prior offense and registered as a sex offender, Cox exchanged multiple images of child sexual abuse material via text message, which included graphic content featuring prepubescent minors. After executing search warrants at Cox’s residence on December 6, Noblesville Police Officers found three cell phones he used for viewing and storing the abhorrent content along with a Dropbox account containing around 5 videos and 31 images of child sexual abuse material.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Tom Wheeler, condemned Cox's actions in firm terms. "Despite his history as a dangerous contact sex offender, the defendant chose to reoffend," Wheeler stated. "His actions ensure that images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children will circulate in perpetuity, which unequivocally contributes to the trauma experienced by the abused children depicted in his collection." Cox's criminal past includes convictions for sexual misconduct with a minor in 2007, sexual battery in 2008, and child solicitation in 2017.
In a statement highlighting the collaborative effort, Special Agent in Charge Ike Barnes of the U.S. Secret Service’s Indianapolis Field Office expressed his stance. "The U.S. Secret Service is dedicated to protecting children from sexual predators and will vigorously pursue repeat offenders," Barnes told during the investigation, acknowledging Cox's "lengthy criminal history and propensity to reoffend is beyond disturbing." He commended the work of the Noblesville Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for bringing Cox to justice.
The significance of this case is further underscored as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative that began in May 2006. The project's goal is to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse by uniting federal, state, and local resources to better locate and prosecute online predators of children, as well as to identify and rescue the victims. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt imposed the sentence on Cox. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Haney and MaryAnn T. Mindrum prosecuted the case.
