Jacksonville, Florida: Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative that is part of the Department of Justice, announced today that 26-year-old Leachville, Arkansas resident Cody Dillon Hogan has pleaded guilty to using the internet to solicit and pay for an individual to sexually assault a 9-year-old child and record the abuse.
According to the release Hogan faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, up to the potential of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced. He additionally may be required to submit to a life term of supervision. His sentencing date has not been set.
Hogan was arrested on November 9, 2020 and has remained in custody since.
Court documents disclose that Hogan began speaking with an undercover FBI agent in Jacksonville, Florida in December 2019.
Using the name "stonetelephone" Hogan solicited the agent, whom he believed was the parent of a 9-year-old child for "naughty" photos and offered to "pay the 'parent' to create and send him a video of the 'child' being sexually abused."
"Hogan gave specific instructions as to how he wanted to see the 'child' molested in the video, and he sent the agent a $50 gift card as payment for the requested video." Hogan reportedly even told the agent, "After I see this video there could be all kinds of money and requests coming your way lol."
A federal search warrant was executed at Hogan's residence in Arkansas where "hundreds of videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of young children, including sadistic and masochistic content" were discovered on his cellphone and homemade computer.
According to the release, during an interview with FBI agents "Hogan admitted that he had engaged in online conversations with the mother of a 9-year-old child about producing and sending him a pornographic video of the child" and also "stated that he had successfully solicited three other children to produce and send him sexually explicit photos of themselves."