Arkansas Man Indicted on Child Exploitation Charges

NASHVILLE - Daniel Kelly, 32, of Jonesboro, Arkansas, has been indicted on federal child exploitation charges, announced Henry C. Leventis, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Kelly was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee on July 17, 2024, and arrested in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on July 23, 2024. According to publicly available information, in the spring of 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began investigating an adult male who was exchanging messages with a minor girl on the social media application, Snapchat. Through its investigation, the FBI identified the Snapchat handle being used by the adult was owned and operated by Kelly. In addition to chatting over Snapchat, Kelly and the minor child exchanged images, including a copy of the minor child's middle school calendar. As alleged in the indictment, Kelly traveled from Jonesboro, Arkansas to the Middle District of Tennessee twice in October 2023, on dates coinciding with the minor child's Fall Break. During these trips Kelly had sexual intercourse with the minor child, recorded at least one encounter on his phone, and later sent a copy of this sexually explicit video to the minor child via the internet.

If convicted, Kelly faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, Memphis Field Office, Nashville Resident Agency, with valuable assistance from the FBI Little Rock Field Office, Jonesboro Resident Agency.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert E. McGuire and Monica R. Morrison.

An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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