Smithville Man Pleads Guilty to Internet Child Porn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Smithville, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to receiving child pornography over the Internet.

Jacob A. Arnold, 19, of Smithville, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to the charge contained in a June 23, 2015, federal indictment.

Arnold admitted that he received child pornography over the Internet on March 17, 2015.

On April 29, 2015, the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes (WMCC) Task Force received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a video of child pornography that had been uploaded from Arnold’s computer to a DropBox account. On June 4, 2015, members of the WMCC Task Force and officers of the Smithville Police Department executed a state issued search warrant at the defendant’s residence.  Officers seized computers, cameras, digital storage devices and a cell phone.

Child pornography was located on each of the items seized from Arnold’s residence, which must be forfeited to the government under the terms of today’s plea agreement. Approximately 170 videos and 1,600 images of child pornography were located on the seized items.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Arnold agreed that he would not argue for a sentence below 10 years in federal prison without parole and the government agreed not to argue for a sentence greater than 15 years in federal prison without parole. The government will recommend that this federal sentence be served concurrently with Arnold’s 15-year sentence for child molestation in Clay County, Mo. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office. Upon his release from prison, Arnold will be required under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) to register as a sex offender and keep the registration current in each of the jurisdictions where he resides, is employed and is a student.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and the Smithville, Mo., 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."