St. Charles Man Admits Recording Sexual Abuse of 2 Girls

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Charles, Missouri on Friday admitted recording his sexual abuse of two young girls for years. 

Ronald C. Lawrence, 25, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of production of child pornography, two counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography.

Lawrence admitted sexually abusing two girls for years, starting when one was just 7 years old. He recorded that abuse and shared those images with others online. He also admitted downloading and possessing child sexual abuse material. A third girl told authorities that he touched her inappropriately in 2022. She said her abuse stopped when she punched Lawrence in the face.

The investigation began after multiple electronic service providers made cyber tip reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) stemming from the child pornography activity conducted by Lawrence, including Dropbox, Instagram and Google.

Lawrence is scheduled to be sentenced June 21. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson will ask for a sentence of 35 years in prison, the plea agreement says.

The FBI, the St. Charles County Police Department and the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.