Missouri man sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for child pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Missouri man was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. The lengthy sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

Jerry Earl Troupe Jr., 51, of Humansville, Mo., was sentenced April 30 by U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Troupe to forfeit to the government two desktop computers that were used to commit the offense.

On Aug. 30, Troupe pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet. He admitted that he shared child pornography over the Internet through a peer-to-peer file sharing program. On April 13, 2010, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Troupe's residence and seized two computers. A forensic examination of the two computers revealed six videos and 27 photos of child pornography.

David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced the sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary K. Milligan, Western District of Missouri, successfully prosecuted the case.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.