Indianapolis man and woman sentenced to 45 years in federal prison in child sex abuse case

An Indianapolis man and woman have been sentenced to 45 years in federal prison after prosecutors say they sexually abused a girl and sent pictures of the abuse to each other on messaging apps.

Bennie Schuck II, 46, and Amber Talley, 36, pleaded guilty last week to charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, producing child pornography with the minor victim and distributing the images.

The two came under suspicion in 2019 after Louisiana police began an investigation into a then-unrelated child pornography case. Louisiana investigators tracked images in that case to a woman in Indiana. As law enforcement unraveled that case they discovered Schuck's Kik Messenger account also was used to send images to the woman.

Schuck was one of several people who sent explicit images of children to the Indiana woman through the free messaging app, according to court documents. Some of those images included Talley and the girl. Schuck told police he met Talley on Tinder.

Child abuse case: Indianapolis man and woman abused child, sent each other images of their acts, DOJ says

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the girl, who is under the age of 12, estimated the abuse had been ongoing for at least a year.

“The actions of these defendants were beyond heinous and what they subjected this young victim to will likely have untold ramifications for years — no child should ever have to go through something like this by those in a position of trust” FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan said in a statement. “The sentence they received will ensure they can never again subject another child to sexual abuse and exploitation.”

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Four others have been charged in the case or pleaded guilty, including: Diana Roe, 50; Joshua Mead, 40; Joshua Hart, 26; and Quinton Byassee, 35.

A U.S. District Court judge ordered Schuck to pay $25,000 in restitution and serve 10 years of supervised release after his sentence. Court records show Talley must pay $10,000 and serve five years on supervised release after her imprisonment.

Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis man and woman sentenced to 45 years in federal prison in child sex abuse case

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