A Quincy man can look forward to spending the next quarter of a century in prison following his guilty plea on child pornography charges in U.S. District Court Thursday.
Mickell Close (pictured), 31, pleaded guilty to one count of using minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct.
Close secretly recorded images of three female toddlers at his residence while the victims were using the bathroom or bathing. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations also testified in court that they discovered numerous pictures of young girls engaged in explicit activity on Close's personal computer, which was seized during his arrest at his Quincy residence on November 9th. He was originally transported to the Franklin County Jail and remains in custody.
In 2000, Close was convicted of gross sexual imposition with a three-year-old girl. He was labeled a sexual predator.
Prosecutors dropped five other charges, all relating to child pornography, in exchange for Close's guilty plea.
U.S. District Judge Edmond A. Sargus is expected to sentence Close to between 21 and 26 1/2 years in prison for the crime. No sentencing date has been set.
