Child Pornographer Gets 30 Years

A Marietta man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for coercing minors into producing sexually explicit images and videos of themselves and sending them to him over the Internet.

Michael Macaluso, 38, was convicted in a jury trial in December of getting at least two boys to send him nude photos and videos of themselves. After his prison term, Macaluso will be required to register as a sex offender and spend the rest of his life under supervision.

“This defendant personifies what should frighten every parent should be afraid of: Someone masquerading on Internet social media, such as Facebook and MySpace, as an innocent, curious teenager looking to make new friends,” said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “In reality, he was a child predator seeking to cajole minors into sending him pornographic images of themselves.”

According to court testimony, Macaluso, a chiropractor and martial arts instructor by trade, would pose online as a teenage boy or girl and attempt to befriend young teen boys in an effort to get them to make and send the sexually explicit photos and videos. One of the victims went to the police when Macaluso threatened to share the materials with the victim’s high school classmates.

Marietta Police assisted with the investigation of this case. Thousands of images and videos of teenage boys were recovered from Macaluso’s computers.