Anthony Wayne Mizell of Cortez was sentenced in Montezuma County District Court to 15 years on May 9 for sexual exploitation of a child, among other charges, after explicit photos and videos of juveniles were found on his phone in May 2024.
According to Assistant District Attorney Justin Pierce, Mizell pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, one a Class 3 felony for entice/induce to create and one a Class 4 felony for possession of a video. He was also eligible for community corrections and probation.
The Class 3 felony carried a sentence of four to 12 years, and the Class 4 carried two to six years.
“It was up to the judge as to whether he would run them concurrently or consecutively,” Pierce told The Journal. “I asked for the maximum of 12 and six run consecutively for 18 years, and defense asked for probation. Judge (William) Furse handed down a 12-year term and a 3-year term to run consecutively for a 15-year sentence.”
The investigation began after a woman reported to police that she believed her disabled daughter (Girl 1) was being harassed by Mizell for provocative photos and videos. Girl 1, who initially denied sending nude content, later admitted to sending videos to Mizell, who paid her $20 to $40 per video, delivering cash via her mailbox. The mother stated the payments began last summer, totaling about $200. Girl 1 is not a minor.
On May 13, 2024, officer Joseph Yen and Sgt. Glenn Edwards interviewed Mizell at his home on North Henry Street. Mizell claimed he was only flirting with Girl 1 and deleted any videos she sent, citing them as too risqué. His blue Samsung phone was seized as evidence, and a subsequent forensic examination revealed numerous images and videos of nude juveniles and Girl 1 engaging in sexually explicit acts.
Girl 1 told police she was the only one who appeared nude in the photos and videos, and a minor, Child 1, was dressed.
A forensic interview on May 16, 2024, at the Four Corners Child Advocacy Center revealed further details. Child 1 disclosed, after expressing hesitation about speaking with police in fear of getting Girl 1 in trouble, that Mizell had coerced multiple girls into sending explicit videos, threatening harm if they refused.
Child 1 said that Mizell made them do “nasty things” and that they were “forced to do bad stuff to ourselves.”
“We were forced to make a … bunch of videos of us getting naked,” Child 1 told police. Child 1 added they were afraid to go to school in fear that Mizell would do something to them, noting he had told Girl 1 that if they did not send videos he would “hit her” and “shoot her.”
Child 1 added that they and Girl 1 had refused to go to Mizell’s house, despite him saying to come and “do stuff with him.”
Child 1 reported Mizell paid varying amounts, from $10 to $100, for the content, often instructing the girls to delete messages to avoid detection. After the interview, the minor was removed from their home and placed with a foster family by Child Protective Services.
Girl 1’s two phones, a TRAC Fone and a Verizon Orbic, were also collected and placed into evidence.
After investigation of the phones, explicit photos and videos of children were discovered, with numerous minors aged 2 years old to 16 years old depicted, not just Girl 1 and Child 1. There were 47 photos and five videos discovered, all explicit content involving minors.
According to the affidavit, the other minors were unidentified.
Mizell was arrested in September 2024 on suspicion of human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, sexual exploitation of children, and additional charges identified as Class 4 and Class 5 felonies.
