Former Police Officer Sentenced for Producing Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Noel, Mo., police officer was sentenced in federal court today for sexually exploiting a child and for possessing child pornography.

Casey Nanez, 28, of Noel, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

Nanez, formerly a police officer for the city of Noel, pleaded guilty to the federal indictment on Sept. 2, 2010.

The McDonald County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department seized Nanez’s computer in June 2009 during an investigation into allegations that he had unlawful sexual contact with one or more minors. During a forensic examination of the computer, investigators located several photographs of minors, including a set of photographs that depicted a minor engaged in sexual activity with an adult. Nanez admitted that he took those photographs and downloaded them to his computer.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the McDonald County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Joplin, Mo., Police 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.