A Michigan City man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in April to seven counts relating to child exploitation and child pornography, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana said in a statement released on Thursday.

James Allen Hatch, 45, pleaded guilty to two counts of transporting child pornography in interstate commerce over the Internet; two counts of transporting minors across a state line to engage in sexual activity; two counts of enticing minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing video tapes; and one count of possession of child pornography on his computer, the statement said.

The investigation into Hatch began in April 2008 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received tips leading to Hatch, who was located in Wisconsin with three male juveniles, the statement said.

After executing a search warrant at Hatch’s residence, investigators seized a computer, videotapes, and peripherals, and a subsequent computer forensic analysis yielded hundreds of images of child pornography, including images of one of the boys with Hatch in Wisconsin, the statement said.

“Hatch had befriended several boys by purchasing presents for them, taking them out to dinner, and taking them on out-of-state trips before he was arrested in Wisconsin,” the statement said.

Participating in the Investigation were Indiana’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit, the Indiana State Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the St. Joseph County High Tech Crimes Units, and the St. Joseph County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

“Crimes of this nature are particularly disturbing in light of their impact on innocent victims,” said James Gibbons, acting special agent-in-charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago. “All children have an absolute right to grow up free from the fear of sexual exploitation. Our efforts in furtherance of this investigation demonstrate that ICE will go the extra mile to protect the innocence of the most vulnerable segment of our society: our children.”

For more information about the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, visit www.ncmec.org

 To submit a tip on the CyberTipline, visit www.cybertipline.org

 or call (800) 843-5678.