Harold Paul White, Child Sex Crimes, Missouri 2023

Harold Paul White, 54, a St. Louis man, has been accused of child sex crimes, including producing child pornography and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to a grand jury indictment, White allegedly induced or coerced a 12-year-old minor into sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct on Aug. 25, 2023. He is also accused of traveling from Michigan to Missouri on that date for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke said during a detention hearing in court that White met the 12-year-old victim online, traveled to Michigan to have sex with her, and then returned with her to Missouri, where he produced recordings of her and shared them with other underage girls.

White was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on November 20. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The indictment charges White with one count of production of child pornography and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The production of child pornography charge is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison. The travel with intent charge carries a term of up to 30 years in prison.

The Detroit Police Department, the FBI, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards is prosecuting 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 by the Department of Justice. The program 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.