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Press Release

Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Child Obscenity

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri
Faces 10 Years in Prison, State Commitment as a Sexually Violent Predator

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ‑ Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing child obscenity.

 

Rusty Mann, 35, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush.

 

On the night of Oct. 21, 2011, a Springfield police detective observed Mann approach a playground on a bicycle. The detective made contact with Mann just outside the fenced area of the playground. Mann was attired in a black mini skirt and women’s knee-high boots; he was identified as the person who had been leaving soiled diapers and clothing on the playground.

 

As a registered sex offender, Mann was not permitted within 1,000 feet of school property under state law. Mann was placed under arrest at that time. Mann has prior convictions for child molestation and sexual misconduct involving a child.

 

Mann’s bicycle, backpack and fanny pack were collected from the scene. A search of the backpack yielded a cell phone, along with other items. The investigators conducted a search of the cell phone and located several images of suspected child pornography and obscene cartoon depictions of minors, including a cartoon image of a prepubescent female being sexually assaulted.

 

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Mann will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole, followed by a life term of supervised release. Upon release from federal incarceration, Mann will be committed to the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health for control, care and treatment as a sexually violent predator (under the terms of the Judgment and Order of Commitment entered in Case Number 1131-PR00937, in the Circuit Court of Greene County, Missouri, Probate Division).

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, 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."

Updated March 18, 2015