A Jasper resident pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Springfield to possessing and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Donald Lee Zaerr, 58, pleaded guilty to both charges contained in a Nov. 23 indictment. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
By pleading guilty, Zaerr admitted that he distributed at least four images of child porn over the Internet on Oct. 7 of this year and that he was in possession of child pornography on Nov. 5, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Missouri.
Federal agents and members of the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home on Nov. 5 and discovered images of child porn on a computer. The images had been posted on the Internet.
Zaerr has agreed to forfeit to the government 12 computers, four thumb drives and 28 computer disks that were used to commit the offenses, the federal prosecutor’s office said.
The defendant is facing a minimum of five years in federal prison without parole and up to 30 years without parole for the convictions. He also is subject to a fine of up to $500,000.
