By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
A Jasper County judge on Monday sentenced an Independence, Mo., man to five years in prison for promoting child pornography to a minor over the Internet.
Russell L. Rose, 60, pleaded guilty to the charge Oct. 19 in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin in a plea agreement with the county prosecutor’s office. The agreement limited the prison time he might be assessed to no more than 10 years and dropped a second felony count of sexual misconduct with a child under 15.
Circuit Judge Gayle Crane accepted the plea bargain at a sentencing hearing Monday and assessed the defendant five years in prison.
Rose was charged in February of this year after an investigation by Detective Ed Bailey of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department. Bailey engaged in 12 online chat sessions with Rose between Jan. 2 and Feb. 2 while posing as a 13-year-old girl.
According to a probable-cause affidavit signed by Bailey, the defendant repeatedly sent him images of child pornography and adult pornography via the Internet. Rose also asked Bailey’s online persona to take nude photographs of herself and send them to him, the affidavit states.
The defendant discussed plans to buy the “girl” a webcam so she could send him images of herself performing sex acts, and he encouraged her to take nude photographs of an underage girlfriend for his benefit, according to the affidavit. Rose also reportedly sent video of himself performing a sex act to Bailey over the Internet.
