Missouri Sex Offender Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a registered sex offender who was caught with child sexual abuse material to 14 years in prison.

Charles R. Hamilton, 66, of Chesterfield, had 1,288 image files and 185 video files containing child sexual abuse material on his phone. In May of 2023, law enforcement officers in Alabama identified a Kik social media account that was being used to distribute child sexual abuse material. They traced the account to Hamilton, a convicted sex offender. When investigators interviewed Hamilton on May 25, 2023, he consented to a search of his phone. Investigators later found images of child pornography matching those distributed via the Kik account. A forensic examination found that Defendant had used Kik, Instagram and Telegram accounts to receive and transmit child pornography.

Hamilton pleaded guilty in August to one count of possession of child pornography.

The FBI, the St. Louis County Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is prosecuting the case.