Missouri man indicted for receiving, distributing child pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A southwestern Missouri man was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for receiving and distributing child pornography.

This indictment resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force.

Michael V. Lucas, 31, of Springfield, Missouri, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury. This indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Lucas Sept. 21. Lucas remains in federal custody without bond.

The federal indictment alleges that Lucas received and distributed child pornography from Jan. 1 to Sept. 22, 2016, when he was arrested.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, an HSI special agent in Phoenix, Arizona, encountered a person (later identified as Lucas) among the participants who were live-streaming images and videos of child pornography via the internet on Sept. 15, 2016. During the session, the affidavit states, Lucas claimed to have molested two victims, 13 and 16 years old. He said he would attempt to broadcast a future sexual encounter with the victims.

Lucas was partially visible in a reflection during the live stream, the affidavit says. The HSI special agent engaged in two additional live-streaming sessions that day in which Lucas allegedly participated and he continued to share images and videos of child pornography.

On Sept. 19, Lucas was identified by the special agent as posting messages in a known pedophile group. These messages described the number of videos he possessed as well as advertising his new Skype group. Lucas was streaming child pornography videos, the affidavit states, and his reflection could be seen. Lucas also shared two links to a Dropbox account that contained child pornography images, the affidavit says, and claimed that he possessed more than 1,000 child pornography videos.

On Sept. 20, Lucas allegedly was live-streaming and moved the camera to show his face. Lucas allegedly also displayed a handgun and loaded magazine for the weapon during the course of the stream.

HSI special agents in Springfield executed a search warrant at Lucas’s residence Sept. 22, during which Lucas was arrested.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge 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 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.