Thomas E. Andries, Child Pornography, Missouri 2021

Kansas City, MO - Thomas E. Andries, 32, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole for distributing child pornography over the internet, including to an undercover federal agent.

Andries, an Independence, Missouri resident, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on February 12, 2019, after he pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography over the internet on September 8, 2021.

According to court documents, Andries sent a Kik message to an FBI Child Exploitation Task Force officer in Salt Lake City, Utah, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl in an online undercover capacity. He sent the undercover officer two videos of child pornography.

On May 14, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Andries's residence and seized his cell phone. Investigators found approximately 20 photos and 48 videos of child pornography on the cell phone, including young children and toddlers.

Andries also admitted to engaging with Kik groups who discussed the sexual abuse of children and exchanged child pornography files. He told investigators that he communicated with three minor females via Kik beginning in 2018 and sent at least one of the minors child pornography.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna and investigated by the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force and the Independence, Missouri Police Department as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Andries will serve a lifetime of supervised release following his incarceration. This case is a reminder of the importance of online safety and the serious consequences of distributing child pornography.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/independence-man-sentenced-15-years-child-pornography