Columbia Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years for Possessing Child Pornography

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia, Missouri, sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for possessing child pornography.

Joseph Lynn Clark, 63, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

On Oct. 12, 2021, Clark pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. Clark, who has a prior state conviction for possessing child pornography, admitted that he uploaded child pornography to his Google account.

On Oct. 30, 2020, a detective with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force received a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reporting 92 files that appeared to be child pornography in Clark’s Google Photos account. On Jan. 27, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Clark’s residence and Clark was arrested. Officers seized Clark’s iPhones, laptop computer, iPad, and electronic storage devices.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

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."