Dent County Man Arrested and Charged for Federal Child Pornography Violations

ST. LOUIS, MO—Joshua Ziegler was indicted on federal child pornography charges, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap and Dent County Sheriff Rick Stallings announced today.

JOSHUA ZIEGLER, Salem, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 13, on one felony count of receipt of child pornography and one felony count of possession of child pornography. He was arrested today and is scheduled to appear in federal court next week. The indictment was the result of an investigation by the South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force and alleges that in October and November 2008, Ziegler received and possessed images containing child pornography on his computer.

If convicted, receipt of child pornography carries a penalty range of five to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000; possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.

This case is 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.

Reap commended the work performed on the case by the South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force, the Dent County Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant United States Attorney’s Carrie Costantin who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.