Polk County Sex Offender Sentenced to 30 Years for Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Polk County, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing and distributing child pornography, and for being a registered sex offender at the time that crime was committed.

Merle Glenn Daniels, Jr., 46, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 20 years for his conviction for receipt and distribution of child pornography, and 10 years for his conviction for being a registered sex offender at the time he committed the offense. The court ordered the sentences to run consecutively for a total sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Daniels to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration.

Daniels has prior Greene County, Mo., convictions for statutory rape and statutory sodomy involving a 14-year-old victim, which require him to register as a sex offender.

On May 9, 2024, Daniels pleaded guilty to receipt and distribution of child pornography and to being a registered sex offender at the time the crime was committed. Daniels admitted that he was a registered sex offender and used text messages to impersonate a minor so he could exchange sexually explicit texts, images, and videos with the minor victim in November and December of 2022.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Greene County, Mo. Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Polk County, Mo. Sheriff’s Office, the Springfield, Mo. Police Department, and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes 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."