Man sentenced to 55 years in prison for sexually abusing a five-year-old girl

Harrison, Arkansas – On June 6, 2024, a Harrison, Arkansas man was sentenced to 55 years in prison without the possibility of parole for two counts of sexual exploitation of minors through the production of child pornography.

According to the documents, in July 2023, a 5-year-old female told her mother that 32-year-old Aaron Micheal Ricketts had sexually abused her. The minor also stated that Ricketts had taken nude photos of her. After his arrest, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office searched his phone and uncovered several sexually explicit images and videos that documented the sexual abuse of the minor, which began when she was only four years old. At sentencing, the United States presented evidence showing that Ricketts distributed the minor’s images online and also solicited images of other minors in return.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, Boone County Sheriff’s Department, and Harrison Police Department.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006. Led by the U.S. Attorneys and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to better find, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children over the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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