Kansas City Man Indicted for Child Sex Trafficking, Producing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 17, 2013 |
KANSAS CITY, MO—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Missouri man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to child sex trafficking and producing child pornography as part of a scheme that generated more than $200,000 over a three-year period.
Michael Dye, 46, of Kansas City, was charged in a six-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury on Tuesday, July 16, 2013. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Dye’s arrest and initial court appearance. Dye remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Monday, July 22, 2013.
The federal indictment charges Dye with two separate counts of producing child pornography. Dye allegedly victimized two minors, identified as Child Victim #1 and Child Victim #2, to produce child pornography between June 15, 2005 and August 18, 2008. The indictment also alleges that Dye prostituted Child Victim #2 between June 15, 2005 and August 4, 2007.
Dye is charged with two counts of selling child pornography related to each of the two child victims. Dye is also charged with one count of grooming Child Victim #1 to participate in illegal activity (the production of child pornography).
In a motion filed with the court today, the government seeks to have Dye detained in federal custody without bail. According to the government’s motion, Dye’s actions giving rise to these charges include his active and repeated sexual intercourse with the minor females, his production and sale of child pornography of the two minor females, and violent threats against at least one minor female should she ever inform anyone else of these incidents.
Dye allegedly profited extensively from the serial sexual exploitation of at least two minor females. In the course of this investigation, the government developed evidence that Dye used the minor females to produce child pornography for various customers. Dye allegedly exploited the two minor females to one particular individual, who—in exchange for multiple images and videos of child pornography and access to them for sexual favors—paid the two minor females a “weekly allowance,” as well as gifts in the form of multiple vehicles, remodeling projects at Dye’s home, various appliances, and other cash payments in a total amount estimated up to $200,000 over a three-year period. In addition, according to the government’s motion, PayPal records show Dye’s account received approximately $8,300, composed of hundreds of transactions from dozens of individuals ranging from $14 to $61. The government will present evidence that these payments were connected to Dye’s use of at least one of the minor victims for online “cam shows” in which the minor victim would expose herself and perform sexual acts on herself for the paying customers, who were watching online.
The government also will present evidence that, during the frequent deposit of these monies into his safety deposit box, Dye told one of the minor victims that if she ever told anyone about this he would have her and her family killed.
Under federal statutes, Dye faces a potential life imprisonment upon conviction of the sex trafficking counts, as well as up to 30 years’ imprisonment on the production of child pornography counts and up to 20 years’ imprisonment on the sale of child pornography counts. Each of the two counts for the production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Daly. It was investigated by the FBI; the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force; the Clay County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department; the Platte County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; the Newport, Rhode Island Police Department; the Rhode Island State Police; the Winnipeg, Manitoba Police Service in Canada; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; the Crown’s Attorney’s Office in Canada; and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the United Kingdom.