Dylan Andrew Hill, 30, of Novi, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for distributing and possessing child pornography.
Hill was sentenced by United States District Judge David M. Lawson in mid November. U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said Hill faces charges of sexual assault against children under the age of 13 in Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, with proceedings in those cases ongoing.
“This offender is a demonstrated danger to the community and a prolific trafficker of child pornography,” Ison said. “This significant sentence protects vulnerable minors and demonstrates that we will continue to fight to keep our community safe for children.”
Hill’s public defense attorney, Stacey Studnicki, declined to comment.
According to a sentencing memorandum written by Ison, Hill’s actions were first brought to light in July 2020 when an undercover FBI employee discovered online two sexually explicit images of adult males with their genitalia exposed to girls who were estimated to be between 3-9 years old.
The images were posted in the social media messaging application Kik, in an online group called “dark web porn” by user “diyprep123” later identified as Hill.
In May 2021, a federal search warrant was executed at Hill’s home, and authorities said they seized electronic devices that possessed 2,928 images and 984 videos of child pornography, some showing depictions of violence and still others showing sexual abuse of infants or toddlers.
Hill admitted he had been using the social media app Kik since 2015 to view child pornography and also used sites like Whisper and Telegram. He admitted to downloading and distributing at least 100 images and 100 videos of child pornography to “approximately between 75 and 100 other people.”
On July 27, 2022, Hill pleaded guilty with a Rule 11 agreement to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
In the sentencing memorandum, Ison noted: “Hill is the reason there is a market for child pornography. Other individuals capture the worst moments of a child’s life, searing those haunting minutes into the memory of publicly traded images, for the sexual pleasure of Hill and people like him.”
