Columbia, Jefferson City Men Plead Guilty to Child Pornography

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two Columbia, Mo., men and a Jefferson City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today, in three separate cases, to charges related to child pornography.

USA v. Dominguez-Gonzalez

Sergio Antonio Dominguez-Gonzalez, 23, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to producing child pornography.

An undercover detective in Washington, D.C., posted numerous online bulletin messages on specific social media forums, which were Web sites frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children and incest. The bulletin messages were intended to attract individuals with a sexual interest in children. On Feb. 21, 2017, Dominguez-Gonzalez sent an e-mail to the undercover detective.

During the course of their e-mail conversation and later instant messaging, Dominguez-Gonzalez stated that he had sexual contact with a 2-year-old victim for the first time “recently” and had made two videos of himself molesting the victim. Dominguez-Gonzalez admitted he sent one of the videos, as well as screen shots from the video, to the undercover detective. He also told the undercover detective that he showed images of adult pornography to the victim “so she knows that (sic) girls do.”

Under federal statutes, Dominguez-Gonzalez is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the FBI, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force.

USA v. Deavers

Brandon Lee Deavers, 22, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to receiving and distributing child pornography.

This investigation began on Aug. 22, 2016, when a detective with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a user who uploaded an image of an adult engaged in sexual conduct with a 2-year-old child. There were six other CyberTips with the same Skype user name and downloaded separately. The IP address was registered to Deavers and law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at his residence on Oct. 19, 2016.

Investigators seized a Samsung tablet and two USB devices from Deavers’s residence, which contained evidence of Deavers obtaining child pornography over the Internet.

Under federal statutes, Deavers is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the FBI and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force.

USA v. Slusser

Lucas Wayne Slusser, 35, of Jefferson City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to receiving and distributing child pornography.

In May and June 2016, a federal agent observed Slusser distributing child pornography on the Kik Messenger platform. Slusser posted a video of child pornography and five images of child pornography on one occasion. Slusser later posted an image of a female child bound with rope around her legs and arms and additional videos of child pornography.

On Aug. 26, 2016, agents executed a search warrant at Slusser’s residence and seized numerous digital devices, including a desktop computer and multiple cell phones. Investigators examined the cell phones and digital devices and identified numerous suspected child pornography files, containing both video and images. The files depicted infants and toddlers, violent sexual acts against children, and videos depicting child pornography which contained sexual acts with animals. They also located child erotica and Internet history that indicated Slusser was seeking out and sharing child pornography.

Under federal statutes, Slusser is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

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."