Missouri Man Admits Trying to Meet Teen for Sex

ST. LOUIS – A man from Jefferson County, Missouri on Tuesday admitted trying to meet a 16-year-old to engage in sexual activity.

Anthony Justin Snelson, 39, of Arnold, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. He admitted engaging in an inappropriate conversation via TikTok with a teen. After the victim’s mother discovered the conversation, she took it over and began impersonating the victim. She later had her daughter call Snelson, who requested a nude photo and asked if the victim wanted to meet and “mess around,” Snelson’s plea says. The mother called the St. Louis County Police Department on Aug. 12, 2024, after a meeting had been arranged, and officers arrested Snelson when he arrived. He admitted in an interview with police that the reason he met with the teen was “to maybe mess around,” his plea says.

Snelson is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30. The charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of five years, and a maximum of 20 years.

The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lang is prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc.