ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Charles County has been caught in a sickening case of child exploitation.
James Schoggins, 41, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel to one felony count of possession of child pornography on Friday.
Schoggins admitted possessing videos and images on his laptop computer of a teenage girl, dating back to when she was 13 or 14. He told the minor what type of images and videos to send to him and engaged in sexual communications with her, his plea says.
He also possessed 421 other videos and 148 images of child pornography. Schoggins sent child pornography via Kik Messenger and recommended a way to share child sexual abuse material.
Claiming to be a 17-year-old male, Schoggins communicated via WhatsApp with someone claiming to be 16 and exchanged nude pictures with her.
After Schoggins accessed multiple images containing child pornography on his Snapchat account, Snapchat reported him to the National center for Missing and Exploited Children, triggering an investigation by law enforcement.
Schoggins is scheduled to be sentenced on February 3. He could face up to 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is handling 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.
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.
Related Federal Cases
- James Bowen, Child Pornography, Missouri 2016 · Iowa
- Steven Michael George, Distributed Child Pornography, Missouri 2023 · Kansas
- James Loyd Wainright, Child Pornography Production, MO 2017 · Iowa
- Eric Michael Swancutt, Receiving Child Pornography, Missouri 2024 · Kansas
- Steven Hill, Child Pornography, Missouri 2024 · Iowa
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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