Independence Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Producing Child Porn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man who sexually assaulted five children over a period of several years was sentenced in federal court today for producing child pornography.

Kenneth R. Davis, 36, of Independence, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 30 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Davis to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.

Davis and co-defendant Randy Mull, 38, both of Independence, each pleaded guilty on April 6, 2016, to aiding and abetting one another to produce child pornography. They admitted to taking a series of pornographic photos of a 14-year-old child victim (identified as “John Doe #2) in their bedroom on July 15, 2010.

Mull was sentenced on Aug. 23, 2016, to 30 years in federal prison without parole followed by a lifetime of supervised release after incarceration.

According to court documents, two victims (a brother and sister, identified as Victim #1 and Victim #2) reported to the Independence Police Department on Sept. 15, 2014, that they had been sexually assaulted by Mull and Davis over a four-year period. Victim #1 told investigators that he was molested an amount of times described as in “double” or “triple” digits. During the sex acts with Victim #1, which began when he was 14 years old, photographs were taken by Davis and Mull.

Investigators found images of child pornography on Davis’s computer, including pornographic images of additional child victims apparently taken over a period of several years. In all, five children were identified as victims of the sexual assaults and child pornography production. In some instances, the minors were allowed to stay overnight in the care of Davis and Mull at their residence with the permission of the victims’ parents.

A forensic examination of Davis’s computer uncovered 104 videos and 944 images of child pornography, including images of a 10-to-14-month-old female and a 3-year-old female being raped by adult males.

Davis must pay $5,000 in restitution to each of five separate victims whose images of child sexual abuse he received or possessed; or $3,000 to each victim if he can pay restitution within 30 days of the sentencing date.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department and the Kansas City, Kan., 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."