Audrain County Man Sentenced on Federal Child Pornography Charges

ST. LOUIS, MO—John Allen was sentenced to 45 months in prison and 30 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap announced today.

JOHN ALLEN, Mexico, Missouri, pleaded guilty July 2, 2009, to one felony count of possession of child pornography for his July 2005 possession of material containing images of child pornography on his computer. He appeared today for sentencing in St. Louis before United States District Judge Charles A. Shaw.

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.

Reap commended the work performed on the case by the Mexico Department of Public Safety, the Missouri Department of Social Services State Technical Assistance Team, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant United States Attorney Rob Livergood, who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.