Tristan Mullins, 27, and Desley McLemore, 27, of Indianapolis have been sentenced to decades in federal prison for their roles in sexually exploiting and assaulting their approximately 18-month-old child.
According to court documents, McLemore and Mullins were the parents of an infant. From at least 2019 through January 2022, Mullins and McLemore were in an on-again, off-again dating relationship. In June of 2020, McLemore gave birth to a child. The baby primarily lived with McLemore; however, Mullins had periodic visits with the baby, both at his residence and at McLemore’s.
Beginning in December 2021, during times when each defendant had physical custody of the baby, McLemore and Mullins sexually abused the baby and produced more than 98 videos and images depicting sexually explicit conduct.
On January 18, 2022, IMPD officers received a tip from Google alerting them to McLemore and Mullins’ uploads of files depicting their sexual abuse and exploitation of their child. Both parents were immediately located and arrested by law enforcement officers.
Mullins and McLemore admitted their conduct, and Mullins admitted to sharing the child sexual abuse material with others via Kik, Facebook, Snapchat and on adult pornography websites. Mullins wrote extremely graphic and crude captions and commentary for the videos he sent to others.
Both Mullins and McLemore pleaded guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Sexual Exploitation of a Child, by a Parent or Guardian, and Transportation of Child Sexual Abuse Material.
Tristan Mullins was sentenced to 60 years’ imprisonment followed by 15 years of supervised release. Desley McLemore was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment followed by supervised release for life.
“Babies are precious and vulnerable, and most parents have an instinctual desire to protect them from harm. Tristan Mullins and Desley McLemore’s instead chose to exploit their baby in the most cruel and unimageable ways before she was even old enough to walk or speak,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “The people responsible for these monstrous crimes will now spend decades in federal prison where they cannot exploit another child. Our community is safer thanks to the dedication and talents of our ICAC task force, law enforcement partners, and federal prosecutors, who responded immediately to stop the abuse and save this child.”
“The pursuit of those who choose to victimize children is some of the most important work we are doing as an agency,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Adams, of the U. S. Secret Service’s Indianapolis Field Office. “The Secret Service is a proud member of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and want to thank the FBI and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department for their partnership in this investigation.”
“The Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force remains vigilant and dedicated to protecting society’s most vulnerable victims, our children. Parents and caretakers who violate the sanctity of trust by failing to protect their children and sexually exploiting them for their benefit will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted,” said Christopher Cecil, Commander of the Indiana ICAC.
The FBI, U.S. Secret Service, IMPD, and the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated this case. The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. Judge Stinson also ordered Mullins to pay $30,500 to the victim and others, and McLemore to pay $20,000 in restitution to the child.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany J. Preston and former Assistant United States Attorney Kristina M. Korobov who prosecuted this case.
This investigation was conducted by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a multiagency task force led by the Indiana State Police that investigates and prosecutes persons who use the internet to sexually exploit or entice children. Each year, Indiana ICAC investigators evaluate thousands of tips, investigate hundreds of cases, and rescue dozens of children from ongoing sexual abuse. Visit https://www.in.gov/isp/icactf/ to learn more about their efforts.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
