Kirksville Man Indicted on Federal Child Pornography Charges

ST. LOUIS, MO—Joseph Ketsenburg was indicted on federal charges of possession of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap announced today.

JOSEPH KETSENBURG, Kirksville, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two felony counts of possession of child pornography.  According to the indictment, in November 2002, Ketsenburg pleaded guilty to two counts of Statutory Rape in the Second Degree and one count of Statutory Sodomy in the Second Degree in the Circuit Court of Marion County, Missouri.  Between May 2007 and August 2008, Ketsenburg is alleged to have possessed images containing child pornography on his computer.  He appeared in federal court earlier today.

If convicted, each count carries a penalty range of 10 to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.

This case is 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 Kirksville Police Department, the Kirksville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant United States Attorney Rob Livergood, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.