David D. Lerssen Jr. Gets 8 Years for Child Porn Distribution

David D. Lerssen Jr., 34, of Springfield, Mo., is headed to federal prison for eight years without parole after admitting to receiving and distributing child pornography online. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips, marks the end of a federal investigation that uncovered a vast digital archive of exploited children on his devices.

Lerssen pleaded guilty on June 28, 2016, to federal charges tied to the transmission of child pornography via peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. Law enforcement traced illegal uploads directly to his computer, prompting a search warrant execution at his Springfield residence. What they found was a warehouse of digital depravity—more than 876 files containing graphic abuse of children as young as toddlers.

Court documents detail images and videos showing prepubescent minors subjected to bondage and sadistic acts. The material spanned multiple storage devices, revealing a pattern of deliberate, long-term collection. Lerssen admitted he had been consuming child pornography for at least five years, using various websites and file-sharing platforms to not only view but actively distribute the illicit content.

The investigation was led by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, with support from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI. Agents zeroed in on IP addresses linked to the distribution network, identifying Lerssen as a repeat participant in closed-sharing circles where users traded increasingly extreme material.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller prosecuted the case, emphasizing the real-world harm behind every file. ‘These aren’t just images—they’re records of crimes against living children,’ Miller stated in court. ‘Distributing them fuels further abuse and re-victimizes the innocent every time a file is shared.’

The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation. The program combines federal, state, and local efforts to track down offenders, dismantle networks, and rescue victims. For more information, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.