Federal Prosecutors Seeking 1 Million in Restitution for Child Porn Victim

Federal prosecutors have asked a northern Indiana child porn convict who is currently serving an 11 year sentence on child pornography charges to pay almost $1 million dollars in restitution to one of his victims. The convicted felon, Mark Ontiveros, now faces a restitution request of $984,000.00 filed this Tuesday at a federal court in Hammond, IN. The requested funds are intended to help the child pornography victim cover costs of future counseling, educational, vocational counseling, lost earnings, and litigation and attorneys fees. The Times of Munster newspaper has reported that Ontiveros has already paid $236,000.00 in restitution to the child pornography victim.

Ontiveros was sentenced last week to eleven years in prison on the heels of a conviction for possessing and receiving more than 1,000 images of child pornography. Some of the child pornography victims were as young as four years old. Only information related to the restitution of one victim has been released to date.

If you have been the victim of child pornography, there may be avenues of civil recovery available to you. You may be entitled to monetary damages even if the abuser has been criminally convicted. To find out more about child pornography victims’ rights or to speak with an attorney, please click here.