Moberly Man Sentenced on Federal Child Pornography Charges

ST. LOUIS, MO—Francis L. Berrey was sentenced to 180 months in prison, followed by supervised release for life, on federal charges of production and possession of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap and Randolph County Sheriff Mark Nichols announced today.

According to court documents, between January 2007 and November 2008, Berrey videotaped a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Berrey, 35, Moberly, MO, plead guilty last August to one felony count of production of child pornography and one felony count of possession of child pornography. He appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Rodney W. Sippel, in St. Louis.

“Mr. Berrey went beyond possessing child porn,” said Roland Corvington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in St. Louis. “He betrayed and robbed a child’s innocence by videotaping the victim.”

These cases are 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 on the case by the Kirksville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, the Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney; and Assistant United States Attorney Carrie Costantin, who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.