Oronogo Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Oronogo, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography.

Casey Robert Caudle, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 12 years in federal prison without parole.

On Nov. 16, 2017, Caudle pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. Caudle admitted that he used the KIK application to trade child pornography.

According to court documents, Caudle was sending sexually explicit images of an 11-year-old victim, whom he falsely claimed to be his daughter that he was molesting. Caudle sent the images to an individual who reported it to law enforcement. Investigators found 49 images and 49 videos of child pornography on Caudle’s cell phone, including children as young as four or five years of age.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force.

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."