Joplin Man Indicted for Producing Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for victimizing two children to produce child pornography.

Russell Myers, 44, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.

Today’s indictment charges Myers with two counts of using minor victims, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe” and “John Doe,” to produce child pornography from Jan. 1 to Feb. 20, 2024.

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 Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

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."