Missouri Husband and Wife Admit Possessing Child Pornography

ST. LOUIS – A married couple from Jefferson County, Missouri on Tuesday pleaded guilty to federal charges and admitted possessing and sharing child pornography with each other.

David John Dohrman, 52, and Jacquelin Michelle Dohrman, 48, each pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry to a felony charge of possession of child pornography.

The investigation began when David Dohrman sent a video containing child sexual abuse material to his wife on Oct. 1, 2020, resulting in a tip from Facebook to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A St. Louis County Police Department detective followed up and obtained a court-approved search warrant for the Dohrman’s home. David Dohrman admitted sending the video to his wife and admitted searching for and downloading child pornography, his plea agreement says. Investigators uncovered child pornography on cell phones belonging to the couple, as well as chats containing more child pornography and a discussion of a young girl they’d seen in a restaurant. 

The Dohrmans are scheduled to be sentenced October 5. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both.

The St. Louis County Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc.