An Indiana man convicted of producing child pornography has been found dead in a federal prison.
Romeo Hawkins, 26, of Portage, Indiana, was serving a 20-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan.
The Messenger tells:
In 2022, he pleaded guilty to producing material depicting a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, according to federal prosecutors.
Hawkins admitted convincing a 16-year-old girl to produce live photos and videos of herself and a 4-year-old boy “engaging in sexually explicit conduct.” Additionally, Hawkins admitted to law enforcement that he possessed more than 1,000 images and 300 videos containing child pornography, including material depicting young children and infants.
In addition to the 20-year prison sentence, Hawkins was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Hawkins' crimes involving the teenager and four-year-old occurred between January and February 2021.
On Monday, Hawkins was found unresponsive, and attempts to save his life were unsuccessful.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has not announced his cause of death.
“We have no additional information to provide,” the prison said in response to Fox News' questions about Hawkins' manner of death.
During his trial, prosecutors said he had “serious mental health problems” and a difficult childhood — though they acknowledged those factors did not justify his actions.
FCI Milan is a low-security men's prison located about 50 miles outside of Detroit. There are currently just over 1,500 prisoners housed there.
Hawkins had been imprisoned there for approximately 13 months at the time of his death.
