A Joplin man pleaded guilty Monday to possession of child pornography on his computer in a plea deal that would limit the prison term he might be assessed to 10 years.
Roger R. Russell, 21, changed his plea to guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court in a plea agreement with the prosecutor’s office. He was facing a sentencing range of five to 15 years in prison for a conviction.
Circuit Judge Gayle Crane delayed formal action on the deal and ordered completion of a sentencing-assessment report. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for July 23.
Russell was arrested July 26 of last year when Joplin police served a search warrant at his home at 1032 S. Connor Ave. and seized a computer. A forensic preview of the computer “revealed several suspected child pornography video and image files,” according to a probable-cause affidavit.
The search warrant was obtained based on information developed by cyber crimes police Detective Chip Root.
Root wrote in the affidavit that on June 20 of last year, he found a child pornography video being made available on the Internet in a publicly shared folder containing 245 files, 22 of which had common child pornography search terms, such as “preteen,” “underage” and “kiddy,” in their titles. The folder was traced to Russell’s address, and the search warrant was obtained.
On the day his computer was seized, the defendant admitted downloading and possessing the illegal material, according to the affidavit.
Crime & Courts
Joplin man pleads guilty to child pornography offense
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