Missouri man sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a child, illegally possessing a firearm

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Missouri, man was sentenced Thursday to 35 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a child and for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force; and Springfield (Missouri) Police Department.

On June 4, 2018, Corey Dean Frasher, 43, of Springfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a child, and to illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

In addition to U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool’s sentence of 35 years in prison without parole, the court ordered Frasher to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following his release from prison.

This investigation began on Jan. 30, 2017, when law enforcement officers received two Cyber Tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In the CyberTips, Yahoo! reported that an individual, later identified as Frasher, had uploaded child pornography images to his Flickr account.

Officers executed a search warrant at Frasher’s residence on Feb. 22, 2017; they seized a computer tower, a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun and a loaded Harrington & Richardson 16-gauge shotgun.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to possess any firearm or ammunition.  Frasher has prior felony convictions for stealing.

Investigators examined the seized computer tower and found a series of child pornography images and videos that were taken at Frasher’s residence. The images and videos depicted Frasher engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a child victim.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller, Western District of Missouri.

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 16,000 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 2016, more than 2,600 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 800 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 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.