Billy Puckett, Receiving Child Pornography, Missouri 2020

Collins Man Convicted of Receiving Child Pornography

A Collins, Missouri resident has been convicted of receiving child pornography, federal authorities announced today.

Billy Puckett, 39, was found guilty of one count of receiving child pornography following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Monday, June 5.

Puckett has been detained in federal custody without bail since his arrest on the federal indictment. He is a registered sex offender with two prior felony convictions for statutory rape and a prior felony conviction for statutory sodomy.

The charges against Puckett stem from an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. On August 28, 2020, a trooper initiated a traffic stop near the intersection of Highway 13 and East 316 Road in Bolivar, Missouri. The trooper, who learned that Puckett was a registered sex offender, searched Puckett’s vehicle and found a cell phone plugged into a cigarette lighter. When the phone’s screen activated, the trooper noticed Puckett had Facebook and Snapchat applications on the phone, which were not authorized due to Puckett’s status as a registered sex offender.

The trooper seized Puckett’s phone, on which he located multiple images of child pornography, and Puckett was arrested. Investigators conducted a forensic examination of Puckett’s phone and found hundreds of images of child pornography.

Under federal statutes, Puckett is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years 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 defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

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