Mississippi man sentenced for possessing thousands of images, video of child sexual abuse

Published 6:45 am Thursday, May 26, 2022

A Horn Lake man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 8 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse materials on his personal electronic devices.

According to court documents, Steven Mistilis, 62 years old, admitted to possessing, downloading, and viewing child sexual abuse images and videos for several years when approached by officers.

Mistilis had a collection of over 1500 images and 549 child sexual abuse videos, many depicting infants and toddlers engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

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Eleven victims submitted Victim Impact Statements, and U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ordered Mistilis to pay $35,000 in restitution to those victims.

“This individual downloaded and stored images and videos of very young children being sexually abused, and repeatedly viewed them for his sexual gratification and pleasure,” remarked U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “Prison is exactly where he belongs, and the Desoto County Sheriff’s Office and FBI deserve our gratitude for helping to remove him from society.”

The Desoto County Sheriff’s Department and FBI Oxford Resident Agency investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. Kline prosecuted the case.