Poplar Bluff Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Producing Child Pornography

ST. LOUIS, MO—David L. Cathey of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment on two felony charges for producing child pornography. He appeared before U.S. District Judge John A. Ross in Cape Girardeau. Upon completion of that sentence, he will be placed on supervised release for the remainder of his life.

Previously with his plea, Cathey admitted that over a period of several years, he took photographic images of two minor females whom he caused to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Both children were less than 12 years old when Cathey started taking the photographs. Cathey stored some of the sexually explicit images on a CD. The images of the children were discovered when Cathey sold his computer and failed to remove the CD containing the photographs.

The Poplar Bluff Police Department, the Southeast Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Butler County Sheriff’s Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are commended for their efforts to jointly investigate this case. Assistant United States Attorney Abbie Crites-Leoni handled the prosecution for the government.