Kristopher K. Sims, Producing Child Pornography, Kansas 2012

Kristopher K. Sims, 30, of Augusta, Kan., has been indicted on two counts of production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kan.

The crimes are alleged to have occurred July 20, 2012, and Nov. 5, 2012, in Butler County, Kan. Sims initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Nov. 15 in U.S. District Court in Wichita.

An investigator’s affidavit in support of the complaint alleges that a Wichita police detective initiated the investigation after receiving information from Omegle, an online chat service that encourages users to communicate anonymously with strangers. Investigators learned that during a chat on Omegle users exchanged an image of an adult male engaged in sexual activity with a female child who appeared to be under the age of four.

They followed an electronic trail to Sims’ home in Augusta. They learned that Sims had used the Internet to pose as a 14-year-old boy in order to contact girls and to entice them to send him photos of themselves engaged in sexual activities.

If convicted, Sims faces a penalty of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Wichita Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting.

Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

Other cases include Nicolas P. Juszcyk, 24, who is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 40 years and fine up to $5 million on the methamphetamine charge.

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