Springfield Man Indicted for Producing Child Pornography
Case is Part of Project Childhood

SPRINGFIELD, MO—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Missouri man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for using two minors to produce child pornography.

Ronald Mazza, 33, of Springfield, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield.

Today’s indictment alleges that Mazza used two minors, identified as “Jane Doe” and “John Doe,” to produce child pornography between August 1 and December 1, 2013. Each count, upon conviction, carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole.

Mazza is also charged with one count of receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet between August 1 and December 1, 2013.

Dickinson cautioned that 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 James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

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."