Missouri man charged with distributing child pornography

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A suburban Kansas City man was charged in federal court Tuesday for distributing child pornography via the Internet.

This charge resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Cody Lee Davidson, 18, of Raytown, Missouri, was charged in a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. Davidson was arrested Jan. 26 and had his initial court appearance the following day.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Davidson took pornographic photos of a 7-year-old child victim, identified as Jane Doe, and posted those images online. Davidson also took a video of the child victim, the affidavit says, which HSI special agents located on his cell phone.

Davidson also took photos of an 8-year-old child victim, identified as Jane Doe 2, and sent those images to another individual via Kik Messenger, a social media app.

On Jan. 26, HSI special agents and Raytown, Missouri, police officers executed a search warrant at Davidson’s residence.

Investigators have found more than 100 images and videos of child pornography on Davidson’s cell phone and camera, the affidavit says, and the vast majority of those images and videos depict victims from infants to 10 years old. Three videos, according to the affidavit, depict a female child engaged in sexually explicit conduct with an adult male.

Davidson was arrested following the search warrant.

This investigation began when HSI special agents in Boston, Massachusetts, conducting an undercover operation, discovered six images of child pornography being distributed over the Internet on Aug. 7, 2015.  In January 2016, HSI special agents discovered new images from the same Internet site, and learned that these images allegedly had been uploaded to yet another website by Davidson. 

The charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt.

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 14,000 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 2015, nearly 2,400 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.