La Plata Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving, Possessing Child Pornography
Faces at Least 15 Years in Prison

KANSAS CITY, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a La Plata, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing and receiving child pornography over the Internet.

Jeffrey Michael Powell, 31, of La Plata, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner this morning to the charges contained in a Sept. 9, 2008, federal indictment.

Powell admitted that he received child pornography over the Internet on July 4, 2008, and that he was in possession child pornography on July 8, 2008.

A person living in the same residence as Powell discovered multiple movies of child pornography on a disk he borrowed from Powell’s computer on July 8, 2008. The person, who later found more child pornography on Powell’s computer, called the Sullivan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

A forensic examination of Powell’s computer indicated that multiple movies of child pornography had been downloaded through the use of a file-sharing program. Powell admitted that he used the program to search for, and then download, more than 600 images of child sexual abuse. These images included depictions of bondage and violence, as well as victims under the age of 12 years.

Under federal statutes, Powell is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 60 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Sullivan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.