Angela Marie Brown, Child Exploitation, Missouri 2019

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – In a shocking turn of events, Angela Marie Brown, 39, of Springfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise that victimized at least three children.

Brown, a Springfield resident, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise from Jan. 1, 2017, to Nov. 6, 2019.

By pleading guilty, Brown admitted to engaging in a series of felony violations, including the sexual exploitation of a minor and receiving and distributing child pornography. Those felony violations, constituting three or more separate incidents and involving more than one minor victim, comprise a child exploitation enterprise.

Co-defendants Kevin Grant McMillan, 35, Christine Marie Rossiter, 36, and Amber Marie Baley, 38, all of Springfield, and Casie Dee Rice, 52, of Branson, Mo., have also pleaded guilty to the same charge.

The federal investigation began in May 2019 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified law enforcement that McMillan had uploaded three files of child pornography through his Gmail account. The Springfield Police Department was also investigating McMillan in a separate case involving an 8-year-old victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 2.

On Nov. 6, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at McMillan’s residence, where they contacted a second, 15-year-old victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 1, and a 17-year-old minor. Officers seized five laptops, two hard drives, an Apple iPad, a cell phone, and seven USB/micro SD cards. A forensic analyst found images of child pornography depicting Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, and a third victim, a toddler identified in court documents as Jane Doe 3.

Under federal statutes, each of the five defendants is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The federal investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller.

Defendant: Angela Marie Brown

Criminal Charges: Engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, sexual exploitation of a minor, receiving and distributing child pornography

City and State: Springfield, Missouri

Exact Date: Jan. 1, 2017 - Nov. 6, 2019

Sentence or Outcome: Mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/springfield-woman-pleads-guilty-child-exploitation-enterprise