Retired Missouri Police Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material, Justice Department Says

A retired police sergeant who served more than two decades with the Fulton, Missouri, police department pleaded guilty in federal court to producing and possessing child sexual abuse material, KOMU reported on Sept. 30, citing a U.S. Department of Justice news release. The 68-year-old entered guilty pleas to two counts of producing child pornography and one count of possession, according to the station.

KOMU reported that, through his plea, the former officer admitted photographing his own abuse of two minor children and possessing more than 150 files of child sexual abuse material. Investigators also found software on his devices designed to conceal online activity and permanently erase digital evidence, the station reported, citing prosecutors.

He faces up to 70 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole, with a sentencing hearing to be scheduled after a presentence investigation, according to KOMU. The station reported he has been held in the Boone County Jail since 2024 on eight state counts of statutory sodomy involving a child younger than 12, a case that is still pending.