Colorado Man Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Child Sexual Exploitation

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Colorado man was sentenced in federal court today for the sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old Springfield, Mo., victim. 

Dominic Keith Pearson, 26, of Silverthorne, Colo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 45 years in federal prison without parole.

On Oct. 11, 2017, Pearson pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity, and travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual activity. 

According to court documents, the 13-year-old child victim – identified in court documents as “Jane Doe” – was reported missing from her home in Springfield on Jan. 8, 2017. Investigators found a series of messages between Pearson and Jane Doe on a cell phone, indicating that Pearson was traveling to meet Jane Doe.

On Jan. 10, 2017, Pearson and Jane Doe were located in a truckers lounge at Petro Truck Stop off Interstate 70 near Oak Grove, Mo. Both Pearson and Jane Doe had luggage with them in the lounge. Pearson told investigators that he was taking Jane Doe to Denver, Colo.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the FBI, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and the Oak Grove, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."