Cabool Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing, Possessing Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Cabool, MO, man pleaded guilty in federal court today to distributing and possessing child pornography.

Charles “Chuck” R. Denning, 49, of Cabool, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. England this morning to two counts of distributing child pornography and to one count of possessing child pornography. Those charges were contained in a June 23, 2009, federal indictment.

Denning admitted that he distributed 26 files of child pornography over the Internet to an undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, located in Maryland, on Dec. 16, 2008. Some of the files portrayed 6- to 8-year-old victims, including photos produced by Denning. While distributing these 26 files, Denning also attempted to download a purported child pornography movie from the FBI undercover site (the movie had been disabled by the FBI so that, while it appeared to be downloading on Denning’s computer, he could not play the movie).

Denning also admitted that he placed 51 files of child pornography on a file sharing system, some of which were downloaded by FBI agents in Maryland.

Denning was in possession of child pornography on a laptop computer and a computer hard drive at his residence on Jan. 25, 2009. The laptop computer contained 24 videos and 312 images of child pornography, including children under the age of 12. The hard drive contained 308 images of child pornography, including children under the age of 12.

Under federal statutes, Denning is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole for each of the distribution counts, plus up to 20 years in federal prison without parole for the possession count. 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 Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas County, MO, Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.