Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison After Being Caught with Child Pornography

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a registered sex offender who was caught with child pornography while on supervised release from a prior child pornography offense to 10 years in prison.

Michael A. Kight pleaded guilty in 2015 to receipt of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography and was sentenced to six years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. On May 19, 2023, a U.S. probation officer learned that Kight had been communicating with other sex offenders whom he had met in prison, and that Kight had sent images on a digital SD card to one. A search of Kight’s computer found 27 images and one video containing child sex abuse material.

Kight, 31, pleaded guilty in August to one count of possession of child pornography as a prior offender.

The U.S. Probation Office and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lang 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.