Mark Baldwin, 48, of Niles, was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Donald Davis announced.

Upon his release from prison, Baldwin will spend the rest of his life under supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney presided over the sentencing. He declared Baldwin to be a “major threat to the public” and a “substantial risk to youngsters.” “Only a sentence at the statutory maximum is just punishment,” Maloney said.

In commenting on Baldwin’s conduct, Maloney said: “The horrific and depraved nature is just off the chart.” Maloney shared that Baldwin’s case was in the top one to two cases in his 16 years’ experience on the bench.

Baldwin was sentenced to 360 months incarceration, with 300 months to be served concurrent with his state sentence and 60 months to be served consecutively. He was ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution to the victim.

Baldwin came to the attention of Michigan State Police on April 28, 2010 when a concerned citizen filed a complaint about a photograph found on the Internet. The photograph was of a naked man with a naked juvenile female. Baldwin was recognized and identified by a Niles police officer. Balwin was immediately confronted by officers, and he admitted to taking pictures of the 9-year-old girl while she was naked. He was arrested and has been in custody since.

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force conducted a forensic examination of his computer and found pictures of Baldwin sexually assaulting the child. The FBI later determined that pictures of the child had been shared on the Internet and found in child pornography collections in Texas, Massachusetts, Florida and the Netherlands.

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the FBI and the Michigan State Police with the assistance of the Niles City Police Department and Lutheran Social Services.

Prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru with the cooperation of the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutor’s offices, the ICAC task force, federal, state and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate local communities about the dangers of online child exploitation, and to teach children how to protect themselves.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.