Man with prior child porn conviction, arrested for allegedly having underage Massachusetts girl take explicit pictures

BOSTON – An Illinois man was arrested Thursday and charged in federal court in Boston with producing child pornography.

Domenique Dequon Hines, 23, of Crystal Lake, Ill., was charged by criminal complaint with one count of production/attempted production of child pornography. Hines will make an initial appearance Friday in federal court in Rockford, Ill.

According to the criminal complaint, Hines and a 14-year-old Massachusetts victim initially met and conversed on Instagram. Thereafter, the two exchanged phone numbers and began communicating via iMessage. A review of the iMessages revealed that Hines informed the victim that he is 23 years old and the victim confirmed her age. It is alleged that thereafter, at Hines request, the victim took sexually explicit photos of herself and sent them to Hines.

According to the criminal complaint, Hines was previously convicted of a child pornography offense in Illinois.

Due to Hines’s prior conviction, the charging statute provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and up to 50 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Field Division; and Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.