A 37-year-old Indianapolis man was sentenced this week to 30 years in prison and 20 years probation after pleading guilty to raping a child under 4 years old.

Court documents say that investigators began looking at Devon Shane Mitchell in February “for criminal activity unrelated to child sexual abuse.” In the court of the investigation, however, detectives found multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse on his cell phone, including a video that shows him raping a crying child under 4.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana said that the child was at times “in his care, custody, or control.”

After his arrest in April, FBI agents found hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse that Mitchell had collected online.

“Our hearts break for the violence and trauma the defendant inflicted on such a young and vulnerable child,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Zachary A. Myers. “We are deeply committed to finding the offenders who sexually exploit our children and ensuring that they are taken out of our communities.”

Meyers said the case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a federal initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

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[Featured image: Pixabay]