CHATSWORTH, Ga. — Daniel Strickland of Chatsworth pleaded guilty in federal court to producing child pornography of two minors in his care and faces between 20 and 25 years in prison on those charges. He was previously sentenced in Murray County to 14 years in prison for two counts of child molestation.

A federal grand jury indicted Strickland in November 2019.

“Strickland produced child pornography of children under his supervision,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “By bringing this perpetrator to justice, we hope this will be at least a small step toward the victims living a normal life.”

“Much of our success in bringing defendants like this to justice is because of our partnerships with local and state law enforcement agencies like the Murray County Sheriff’s Office,” said Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta. ‘We will never relax our combined resources when it comes to protecting a vulnerable and defenseless child.”

“It is of the utmost importance of the Murray County Sheriff’s Office to provide safety and security to each and every one of our citizens, especially our children,” said Murray County Sheriff Gary Langford.

According to Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: The Murray County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI learned in February 2019 that Strickland, 46, had allegedly abused a minor girl who was under his care.

An investigation revealed that Strickland took sexually explicit photos of this minor girl, and another minor girl, that he previously babysat. In July 2019, Strickland pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation arising from these incidents in Murray County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison and six years on probation on those charges.

Murray County Sheriff’s Office Detective Eric White said in February 2019 that after an allegation was reported to deputies on Feb. 13 by a child who was under the age of 14, Strickland’s wife provided more information to investigators.

“It is pretty cut and dry,” White said then. “We had a juvenile report he had been touching her, and his wife went through his phone and tablet and found what she thought were pictures of the same juvenile with certain identifying marks.”

According to an incident report, deputies were given a tablet that was said to be Strickland’s that “contained naked pictures of juvenile females.” The wife gave deputies Strickland’s cellphone after deputies responded to a 911 call reporting “Daniel Strickland was being irate with (his wife).”

Strickland pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Steven D. Grimberg for the same victims. Under the terms of Strickland’s plea agreement, the government and Strickland are recommending that the court impose a sentence of between 20 and 25 years in prison.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 10 a.m.

Anyone with information, or who may have been a victim in this case, is asked to contact the Murray County Sheriff’s Office at (706) 695-4592 or the FBI at (770) 216-3000.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex R. Sistla and Nicholas Hartigan are prosecuting the case.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the U.S. attorney general launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children.

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