Missouri Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Monday sentenced a Carter County, Missouri man to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography.

Jurors in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in December convicted Clinton Rongey, now 53, of one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Evidence and testimony at trial showed that between February and November of 2023, Rongey produced more than 100 images containing child sexual abuse material featuring the victim, who was three and four years old at the time. Rongey engaged in a “pattern of activity,” doing so on multiple occasions while he’d been entrusted with the care of the victim, according to a government sentencing memorandum.

The case was investigated by the Carter County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Hunter and Nathan Chapman prosecuted 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.