Man convicted of second federal child porn offense

A man with Michigan ties previously convicted of receiving child pornography was convicted by a federal jury Tuesday on a charge that he received similar material, federal officials announced.

The trial for Matthew Mercer-Kinser, 36, started last week in U.S. District Court, records show.

In June 2009, U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland sentenced him to serve 151 months for transporting child pornography.

Mercer-Kinser collected the items while serving in the Army and stationed in Georgia, then later transported his collection to Michigan, according to court filings.

In July 2019, the Bureau of Prisons ordered Mercer-Kinser to serve the final months of his sentence in a Detroit residential reentry center. But while there, he "sent numerous sexually explicit text messages to a minor relative," investigators said in a statement. "A concerned adult learned of these communications and reported Mercer-Kinser to the FBI. Execution of a search warrant for Mercer-Kinser’s smartphone revealed several images of child pornography and numerous disturbing communications demonstrating Mercer-Kinser’s continued, prolific sexual interest in children."

Mercer-Kinser, who attempted suicide after he was reported to the FBI, had been in custody since 2019, records show.

“Protecting children from dangerous predators is a top priority for our office,” U.S. Attorney Ison said. “The actions of a concerned adult were crucial in bringing the crime in this case to the attention of law enforcement, and parents and other relatives need to be vigilant in watching out for signs of abuse or the exploitation of our kids.”

He testified in his own defense during trial, he admitted his sexual fetish for children, officials reported Tuesday.

“This defendant’s repeat sexual offenses make him an extreme danger to our youth. Today’s guilty verdict is a step closer to ensuring Mercer-Kinser no longer has access to children in any way,” said James Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “The combined efforts of the member agencies in the FBI’s Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Task Force continue to form a formidable barrier between predators and our children.”

In a lengthy handwritten court filing in January, Mercer-Kinser sought to dismiss his indictment, arguing he “never intended to receive or possess” child pornography and “sought only legal child erotica.”

Responding to the motion, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Berg wrote that Mercer-Kinser had missed a deadline to dismiss and his "arguments are foreclosed by existing precedent."

Mercer-Kinser faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 29.