Jasper County Man Charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Jasper County, Mo., man who sexually exploited children whom he contacted on Facebook has been charged in federal court with producing child pornography.

Ian Holman, 32, of Jasper County, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, law enforcement authorities received reports from two child victims, identified as 14-year-old Jane Doe #1 in Webb City, Mo., and 13-year-old Jane Doe #2 in Carthage, Mo., after Holman contacted them via Facebook.

Holman, using the screen name “Lucky Holman,” allegedly offered to pay Jane Doe #2 $75,000 to $100,000 in exchange for various sexual acts. He also asked her to send him sexually explicit pictures of herself, which she did.

Holman allegedly contacted Jane Doe #1 last month and offered to pay her $65,000. She knew several 12-to-14-year-old girls whom Holman had listed as friends on his Facebook page, the affidavit says, but Jane Doe #1 did not know him and ended the conversation. She reported the contact to her father, who notified the police.

On Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013, after receiving the report from Jane Doe #2, a sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to Holman’s residence. Holman attempted to elude the deputy by running out the back of the house and into the woods. The deputy, along with two other officers and a K9 unit, pursued Holman into the woods. The officers searched for Holman for approximately 45 minutes. The deputy was able to contact Holman by phone and persuade him to turn himself in.

According to the affidavit, Holman told law enforcement that he friended numerous 12-to-14-year-old girls in the Carthage and Webb City area and used Facebook instant messaging to contact the girls.

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and Homeland Security Investigations.

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."