Thomas O. Stroud Jr., Child Pornography Possession, Missouri 2024

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A sex offender from southeast Missouri has been caught red-handed with child sexual abuse material once again.

Thomas O. Stroud Jr., 43, of Wappapello, Missouri, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to the possession of child pornography on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.

According to court documents, Stroud has a prior federal conviction for possessing child pornography in 2009. Following his release from federal prison, Stroud was required to register as a sex offender. He was also placed on a 40-year term of supervised release.

Last March, while Stroud was serving his term of supervised release, Stroud’s probation officer discovered that he had been using a cell phone to communicate with someone in Indiana. During the communications, Stroud obtained several images of child pornography.

At his plea hearing on Tuesday, Stroud admitted that he used a cell phone to obtain images of child pornography from the subject in Indiana.

Stroud’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 25, 2025. He faces a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of 20 years for the new child pornography offense. Stroud also faces an additional sentence of up to 24 months for violating the terms of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the United States Probation Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester is handling the prosecution.

According to the U.S. District Court, the defendant, Thomas O. Stroud Jr., has a prior conviction for child pornography in 2009 and was required to register as a sex offender. He was also placed on a 40-year term of supervised release.