2 Missouri men indicted in separate child pornography criminal cases

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Two southwestern Missouri men have been indicted in separate cases for sharing child pornography online.

These indictments resulted from separate investigations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force, the Joplin (Missouri) Police Department and the York Regional Police Service in Ontario, Canada.

USA v. Childers

Jason L. Childers, 38, of Joplin, Missouri, was charged in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury May 13.

The indictment alleges Childers received and distributed child pornography over the Internet on four separate occasions between October and December 2014. Childers is also charged on a fifth count with possessing child pornography on April 7, 2015.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Childers to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offenses, including three computers, two cell phones and various digital storage media.

USA v. Greinke

Michael Greinke, 27, of Springfield, Missouri, was also charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury May 13.

The indictment in this case alleges that Greinke received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between Jan. 1, 2014 and April 6, 2015.

The charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.