St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offenses

A St. Louis, Missouri, man pled guilty on June 22, 2011, in Federal District Court in East St. Louis, to a two-count Indictment charging, in count one, possession of child pornography, and, in count two, transportation of child pornography, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Because Daniel Lee Scalf, 31, was previously convicted of a sex offense involving a minor, he faces increased penalties on both counts. On count one, Scalf faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of five years to life. On count two, Scalf faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years up to 40 years’ of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and not less than five years to a lifetime term of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for September 23, 2011. Scalf has been detained, that is, held without bond, since his arraignment on March 7, 2011.

The violation referenced in count one occurred on January 25, 2011, when Scalf was arrested in a Wal-Mart, in Collinsville, Illinois, for stealing little girl’s underwear. Because of the Scalf’s suspicious behavior regarding the cellular telephone in his possession, officers contacted a detective assigned to the FBI’s Metro East Cyber Crimes and Analysis Task Force. The detective interviewed Scalf who eventually admitted that there might be “inappropriate” images on his telephone. A search warrant was obtained for the cellular phone, and at least two images of child pornography were found in the “my pictures” folder of the telephone. When confronted with the images, Scalf acknowledged that he possessed the two images of child pornography, and stated that he e-mailed himself the images from his old cellular phone to his current cellular telephone.

With respect to count two, Scalf also e-mailed himself images of child pornography between his two different Yahoo e-mail accounts via the Internet. One of the occasions in which he did so was on or about July 26 or July 27, 2010, while using a public computer in the library at Southwestern Illinois College.

“There is no legitimate purpose in victimizing children by possessing or transporting child pornography. Such images victimize the child over and over again. I have high praise for the officers whose instincts led them to look beyond a mere shoplifting and prevent a much worse crime.” said United States Attorney Wigginton.

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Collinsville, Illinois, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Metro East Cyber Crimes and Analysis Task Force. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.