NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BETH PHILLIPS

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov../index.html

MARCH 9, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CLINTON COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD PORN,

FACES 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SUBSCRIBING

TO CHILD PORN WEB SITES

            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Clinton County, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to attempting to receive and possess child pornography after he subscribed to several child pornography Web sites.

            Michael Pinkerton, 32, of Clinton County, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner this morning to the charges contained in a June 2, 2009, federal indictment. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Pinkerton jointly recommend a sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

            Pinkerton was arrested in November 2005, when the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department received a report that he was hiding in the women’s dressing room of a Clay County, Mo., Target store and photographing young girls as they were changing clothes. During the course of the investigation, officers discovered two Compaq Presario computers belonging to Pinkerton in a storage facility.

            One of the computers contained several e-mails that confirmed Pinkerton’s subscription to five pay-for-view child pornography Web sites and indicated that Pinkerton also attempted to access a sixth pay-per-view site. An analysis revealed that the computers were also used to view child pornography from the pay-for-view child pornography Web sites.

            The review of both computers showed that Pinkerton repeatedly conducted Internet searches for child pornography. The Internet favorites files of both computers contain numerous Web site titles suggesting child pornography along with rape.

            This case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at

http://www.justice.gov../index.html