Former Lawson Business Owner Indicted for Child Pornography

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Lawson, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender has been indicted by a federal grand jury for possessing and distributing child pornography over the internet.

Lance M. Berry, 36, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, June 20.

Berry, the owner of a flower shop in Lawson at the time of his offense, has a prior Ray County, Mo., conviction for deviate sexual assault, which requires him to register as a sex offender.

The federal indictment charges Berry with one count of distributing child pornography over the internet on June 1, 2022, and with one count of possessing child pornography on June 17, 2022.

Berry was arrested at his former business on June 17, 2022, by Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers. Berry struggled with troopers when they seized his cell phone and troopers were forced to spray him with pepper spray before placing him in handcuffs.

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 Kenneth W. Borgnino. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."