St. Louis County Man Admits Drug, Child Pornography Charges

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County on Tuesday admitted recording his sexual activity with a 13-year-old and possessing fentanyl.

Tyler Jacob Staub, 24, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams of more of fentanyl.

As part of his plea agreement, Staub admitted engaging in sexual activity with the victim, and recording those acts on his phone.

On June 22, 2023, the St. Charles County Police Department was notified about a missing 13-year-old. The victim’s parents said she may be with someone driving a red or black Ford Mustang. Officers spotted a Mustang idling down the street from the victim’s home and found Staub and the victim inside. They also found a Glock pistol, an AR-style pistol and two bags containing fentanyl tablets.

The victim told investigators that she’d met Staub online about two months earlier via Snapchat. She began meeting him in person three or four weeks earlier.

Staub’s sentencing is set for September 24. The child pornography charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine. The fentanyl possession charge carries a penalty of at least five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years, as well as a fine of up to $5 million.

The St. Charles County Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration 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.