A St. Louis County man has been arrested on a federal charge of receiving child pornography. The investigation began with a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after someone uploaded files containing child sexual abuse material to Dropbox.
Christopher D. Cotton, 32, was arrested Friday and appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis later that day, pleading not guilty. He was indicted this week.
The indictment alleges that Cotton used electronic devices to receive multiple videos and images containing child pornography, including videos featuring infants. A motion seeking to have him jailed until trial says Cotton traded child pornography with others, possessed thousands of videos and images containing child pornography, and had asked for and received sexual images from minors that he’d communicated with via social media.
The motion also states that Cotton traded child pornography with others, possessed thousands of videos and images containing child pornography, and had asked for and received sexual images from minors that he’d communicated with via social media.
The case was investigated by the Maryland Heights Police Department, the St. Louis County Special Investigations Unit, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Defendant: Christopher D. Cotton
Criminal Charges: Receiving of child pornography
City and State: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: Friday (no exact date mentioned)
Sentence or Outcome: Currently in custody and awaiting trial
Related Federal Cases
- Anthony Moore, Receiving Child Pornography, Missouri 2024 · Kansas
- Jace Chandler Hickman, Child Pornography Possession, Missouri 2024 · Arkansas
- James R. Lambert, Production of Child Pornography, Missouri 2018 · Kansas
- James C Astorian, Child Pornography Distribution, Missouri 2024 · Kansas
- Cecil Pulluaim, Child Pornography Production, Missouri 2024 · Kansas
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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