Press Release
Boonville Man Sentenced for Child Porn
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri
Project Safe Childhood
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Boonville, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet.
Paul E. Durham, 34, of Boonville, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan on Thursday, July 18, 2013, to seven years in federal prison without parole.
On Feb. 11, 2013, Durham pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet.
In December 2011, a detective with the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force used an automated software program to browse and download suspected child pornography files through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. Durham’s computer was identified as having child pornography available to share online. The file-sharing program on Durham’s computer allowed him to obtain child pornography from other users, and to share child pornography with others over the Internet.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Feb. 2, 2012, at the home of Durham’s mother, where he resided. They seized a laptop computer and an external hard drive. During an examination of the contents of the computer media, examiners found at least 52 images of child pornography and 17 movies of child pornography. There were images and video depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts with adults. One video depicted a young girl engaged in bestiality. Some of the material depicted children engaged in sadistic or masochistic conduct.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Cooper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the FBI and the Mid-Missouri Internet 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."
Updated January 14, 2015
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