Springfield Man Sentenced to 50 Years for Producing Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for producing and distributing child pornography.

Christopher Peck, 40, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 50 years in federal prison without parole. Peck was sentenced to 30 years for producing child pornography, which is the statutory maximum penalty, and to a consecutive 20 years for receiving and distributing child pornography, which is also the statutory maximum penalty. The court also sentenced Peck to a term of supervised release for the rest of his life following incarceration.

Peck, who pleaded guilty on Nov. 17, 2016, admitted that he used two minors, identified in court documents as Jane Doe #1 and John Doe #1, to produce child pornography between Nov. 1, 2014, and Jan. 8, 2016. Peck also admitted that he received and distributed child pornography during that time.

Co-defendant Tracy Ann Smith, 42, of Springfield, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison without parole on Dec. 20, 2016.

Smith pleaded guilty on May 10, 2016, to one count of the sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. Smith admitted that she used a minor, identified in court documents as Jane Doe #1, to produce child pornography between Nov. 1, 2014, and Jan. 8, 2016. Smith also admitted that she received and distributed child pornography during that time.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

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."