Lincoln County Man Indicted on Federal Child Pornography Charges

ST. LOUIS, MO—Christopher Ellison was indicted on federal charges of possession of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap and Troy Police Chief Jeff Taylor announced today.

According to the indictment, on December 10, 2008, Ellison had images of child pornography on his computer. The indictment states that in September 2002, under the name of Leon McEllis, Ellison pleaded guilty to several child exploitation charges and was sentenced to 18 to 54 months in prison on each count. If convicted of the federal charges in this indictment he faces a penalty range of 10 to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 on each count.

CHRISTOPHER ELLISON, a/k/a Leon McEllis, Troy, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 30, 2009, on three felony counts of possession of child pornography. 

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 Troy Police Department, St. Charles County Sheriff's Office Cyber Crime Unit, 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.