A Herndon mental health counselor who exploited children online while providing therapy to teens and families was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 8, to 30 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles imposed the sentence on Christopher Neal Mishik, 36, after he pleaded guilty to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, a charge that carried a potential maximum of life in prison. The sentencing was first reported by FFXnow.

Mishik is a Licensed Professional Counselor who offered telehealth counseling to patients, including adolescents, young adults and families, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Court documents show he provided those services through his own practice, C.M. Wellness Counseling LLC, and the Northern Virginia-based firm Envision Counseling.

In the summer of 2024, Mishik participated in an Instagram-based group of adult men who coordinated to produce, distribute and receive child sexual abuse material, according to court documents. The group victimized at least six underage girls, including a 10-year-old and a 14-year-old with a form of Down syndrome, between June 18, 2024, and Sept. 13, 2024.

Group members sometimes posed as teenage boys or girls to manipulate victims, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Mishik stopped participating in that group in 2024, but prosecutors said he engaged in similar behavior for years.

The FBI's Washington Field Office began investigating the Instagram group after receiving a tip on July 7, 2025. Agents identified Mishik through an IP address registered to his Herndon home. During a Nov. 12, 2025, search of the home, agents seized a cell phone containing child sexual abuse material, including images of toddlers saved in hidden applications, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Mishik was arrested and charged March 13 with child sexual exploitation. He was released on bond with conditions including restricted internet access, specialized mental health treatment and a requirement to live with his parents in New Jersey during court proceedings. He waived his right to an indictment and entered a plea agreement June 17.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vanessa Strobbe and Lauren Halper argued for the 30-year sentence and lifetime supervised release. In their sentencing memorandum, they wrote that Mishik used his professional training to exploit children's trust. Defense attorneys with Patrick N. Anderson & Associates argued in an Oct. 1 statement for the 20-year mandatory minimum, saying Mishik "is deeply and genuinely sorry for all the pain he [h]as caused … but he needs continued psychiatric help."

Giles sided with prosecutors.

Defense attorneys noted that Mishik closed his private practice and stopped working with Envision Counseling after his release on bond. Defense attorney Jessica Richardson said the team had no further comment, according to FFXnow.

Envision Counseling, which lists an office in Annandale and serves clients throughout Virginia via telehealth, has not publicly commented on Mishik's case. No response from the firm appears in public records as of publication.

Anyone with information about child exploitation can report it to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-843-5678, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children hotline.