SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A West Plains, Missouri, sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography.
David Lee Wilson, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Wilson to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.
On Aug. 5, 2020, Wilson pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography. Wilson has a prior conviction for child molestation in Grays Harbor County, Washington, and is a registered sex offender.
A law enforcement officer contacted Wilson at a West Plains residence on Aug. 22, 2019, and seized his cell phone. The cell phone contained images of child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the West Plains, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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