Former Camden County Deputy Sentenced for Child Pornography

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A former Camden County, Missouri, sheriff’s deputy was sentenced in federal court today for receiving child pornography.

Leonard Jerome Wilson, 41, formerly of Camdenton, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to eight years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Wilson to serve 10 years of supervised release following incarceration.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Wilson was required to surrender his peace officer license and enter guilty pleas in two related state cases.

Wilson, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 17, 2019, was employed as a Camden County sheriff’s deputy at the time of the offenses. During an internal investigation for allegations of sexual misconduct and behavior while he was both on and off duty, deputies obtained a tablet and two cell phones used by Wilson. One cell phone contained a MicroSD card with 18 images of child pornography and 49 images of child erotica. All of the images were of infant, toddler, and prepubescent children.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley S. Turner and Aaron M. Maness. It was investigated by the Camden County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

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."