Loose Creek Sex Offender Sentenced for Possessing Child Porn

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Loose Creek, Mo., sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for possessing child pornography.

Richard Dale Hays, 50, of Loose Creek, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to seven years and three months in federal prison without parole, which is the toughest penalty recommended under the federal sentencing guidelines.

On Feb. 1, 2016, Hays pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

According to court documents, Google notified law enforcement on Oct. 21, 2014, that an image of child pornography had been uploaded to Hays’s e-mail account. Officers executed a search warrant at his residence. The image which was uploaded was not located on any of the phones searched, and the only computer found in the home had its hard drive removed. Hays reported that he had removed and thrown away the hard drive.

According to court documents, Hays committed this offense after a long history of failed supervision by probation and parole officers. Throughout supervision, Hays has refused sexual offender counseling and treatment.

Hays was convicted of rape and attempted rape in Boone County, Mo., in 1985 and sentenced to 25 years in state prison. In both offenses, Hays broke into a home, and with the use of a knife either forced a female victim to have sexual intercourse with him, or attempted to force the victim to have sexual intercourse with him.

After being released on parole on April 15, 2003, Hays was returned to confinement less than six months later for violations including failure to participate in sex offender counseling, consumption of alcohol and possession of drug paraphernalia. His girlfriend reported that Hays raped her, but no charges were filed. On May 15, 2007, Hays was again released on parole.

Hays’ second parole release in 2007 lasted less than five months, and the violations noted during this time frame included the possession of drug paraphernalia, use of cocaine, accessing pornography and the unsuccessful completion of sex offender counseling. As a result, Hays was temporarily placed in an inpatient treatment program, but was discharged after making inappropriate comments to a female staff member.

While on parole in 2009, Hays failed to register as a sex offender. On April 12, 2010, Hays pleaded guilty to the felony of failing to register as a sex offender, and was placed on probation for five years. Less than six months later, Hays’s probation was revoked for violations including testing positive for cocaine and failing to complete substance abuse counseling. He was ordered to inpatient treatment, and while there wrote sexually explicit letters to other female patients, which led to his being discharged from the program. Hays again declined to participate in sex offender counseling, and absconded after his sexually explicit letters were discovered.

On September 3, 2012, Hays was again released, but less than two months later he was again revoked for violations including having contact with his brother’s four-year-old child without the prior consent from his supervision team and masturbating to pornographic images on television. Hays again absconded, was revoked on July 2, 2013, and returned to confinement. He was discharged on October 17, 2013. A year later, Google notified law enforcement of the child pornography that had been uploaded to his e-mail account.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the St. Charles, Mo., Police Department 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."