Two Area Men Pled Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charges

St. Louis, Missouri: James McGuire and Daniel Joseph McInnis pled guilty in separate cases to child pornography charges including possession and production, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

“This office will use creative law enforcement techniques to find and prosecute online child predators,” said Hanaway. “The cooperation between federal and state law enforcement is key to the success of Project Safe Childhood's attack against child pornography,” said Hanaway.

DANIEL JOSEPH McINNIS, St. Charles, pled guilty earlier today to one felony count of production of child pornography and one felony count of possession of child pornography. He now faces a minimum penalty of fifteen years in prison and a maximum of thirty years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 for producing child pornography; possession carries a maximum of ten years prison and/or fines up to $250,000. Both charges require supervised release of up to life after incarceration. Sentencing has been set for May 8, 2008.

Between February and June 2007, McInnis videotaped himself having sexual contact with a minor and was in possession of child pornography. During the execution of a state search warrant at McInnis’s residence, officers seized a mini DVD camera and the video which contained the images of child pornography.

JAMES McGUIRE, St. Louis, pled guilty Wednesday to two felony counts of possession of child pornography. He now faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000, per count, when he is sentenced on April 25, 2008.

During an online investigation in December 2006, a St. Charles County Sheriff’s officer identified the Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computer that was sharing child pornography over the Internet. Further investigation showed that the IP address was being subscribed to by someone at McGuire's residence. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on January 16, 2007, and officers seized computers and computer media from the residence. McGuire admitted with his plea that he possessed more than 600 images of child pornography, which he obtained over the Internet. Some of the images portray minors under the age of 12.

These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Department of Justice launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Hanaway commended the work performed on these cases by the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department, the St. Charles and St. Louis County Police Departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Regional Computer Crimes Education and Enforcement Group, and Assistant United States Attorneys Reginald Harris and Carrie Costantin, who are handling the cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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