British man gets 42 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child in Central IL

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — A man from Great Britain was sentenced in federal court to more than four decades in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child in Central Illinois.

Court documents show Scott West, 40 of Manchester, was indicted by a grand jury in December of 2022 with three counts of sexual exploitation, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The U.S. government requested his extradition from the British government the following June, and in October of 2024, he arrived in the U.S. to face the charges.

He’s been in federal custody since his extradition, and in January of this year, he pleaded guilty.

The indictment obtained by WCIA revealed that West’s criminal activity happened in March of 2017 and involved at least two victims from the Central District of Illinois. Prosecutors said West and an unnamed co-conspirator created an account on social media, pretended to be a young woman and contacted young boys to solicit sexually explicit images.

When West got said images from the victims, prosecutors said he would solicit more photos and threatened to expose the victims if they didn’t comply. Victims were from multiple countries, including the U.S.

At his sentencing hearing on Monday, U.S. Chief District Judge Sara Darrow found that West’s crimes involved the “knowing misrepresentation of a participant’s identity to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct.” He faced anywhere from 15 to 30 years in prison for each count.

Documents show West and his attorneys requested a sentence toward the lower end of the range he agreed to — 32 years — suggesting that anything further wasn’t necessary. They noted that West admitted to and accepted responsibility for his conduct, waived his rights in the U.S. to a trial, and that he has no prior criminal history.

They also noted that 32 years was enough time for West to receive effective treatment for the depression he has experienced in the past.

However, Judge Darrow decided against the recommendation of 32 years and gave West a sentence of 42 years, with a further 10 years to be served on parole.

“West manipulated and preyed upon children on two continents in his quest to fulfill his own sexual desires,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Seberger said in a news release. “This extradition and sentence ensured that his American victims received justice in the United States for his crimes. We will continue to work with law enforcement across the globe to bring justice to victims of abuse.”

The investigation into West’s crimes was conducted by the United States Secret Service and the Greater Manchester Police Online Child Abuse Investigation Team in England, with assistance from the Illinois State Police and several local police departments and sheriff’s offices.