Press Release
Unionville Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Child Porn
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Unionville, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing child pornography.
Joel R. Bremer, 51, of Unionville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 18 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Bremer to supervised release for the rest of his life following incarceration.
On June 10, 2016, Bremer pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. The investigation began in February 2013 when the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department received a report from a 19-year-old female (identified in court documents as “Jane Doe”) that she had been sexually abused by Bremer for a period of time when she was a child. She also stated that Bremer had taken nude photographs of her when she was a minor and that she had recently seen those pictures on his laptop computer, which he kept in his home.
According to court documents, Jane Doe alleges that Bremer engaged in sexual intercourse with her over 100 times and made her perform oral sex at least 20 times. A second victim, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe 2,” alleges that Bremer also committed sexual offenses against her, including engaging in sexual intercourse several years ago before she was 16 years of age. Bremer has been charged under state law for these alleged offenses against both victims.
Investigators with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the Kirksville Regional Computer Crimes Unit executed a search warrant at Bremer’s residence on Feb. 11, 2013, and seized a laptop computer and several CD/DVDs. A forensic analysis was conducted at the Kirksville Regional Computer Crime Laboratory. No pornographic images of Jane Doe were located; however, the analysis located approximately 1,472 photos and 40 videos which contained child pornography that appeared to have been obtained via the Internet. The content of the numerous images and video files include depictions of adults engaging in sexual conduct with prepubescent children, including toddlers.
According to court documents, Bremer continued to download child pornography after he was indicted in this case and while he was under pretrial supervision. Bremer borrowed a laptop computer from a friend, according to court documents, who discovered evidence of child pornography on the computer when it was returned at the time of his guilty plea. Investigators located 211 images of apparent child pornography under the profile name “Joel Bremer.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the Putnam County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Kirksville, Mo., Police Department and the Kirksville Regional Computer Crimes Unit.
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 April 11, 2017
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Project Safe Childhood
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