Independence Men Plead Guilty to Producing Child Porn, Face at Least 15 Years in Prison

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two Independence, Mo., men pleaded guilty in federal court today to producing child pornography.

Kenneth R. Davis, 35, and Randy Mull, 36, both of Independence,  pleaded guilty in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to the charge contained in a July 29, 2015, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Davis and Mull each admitted that they aided and abetted each other to produce child pornography on July 15, 2010, by taking a series of pornographic photos of a 14-year-old child victim (identified as “John Doe #2) in their bedroom.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, 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.

Under federal statutes, Davis and Mull are each subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being 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."