Missouri sex offender indicted for sexual exploitation of a child following HSI, partner investigation

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal grand jury indicted a Bolivar man June 27 on charges related to the sexual exploitation of a child following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and law enforcement partner investigation.

Merle G. Daniels, 44, was charged in a three-count indictment alleging that he used a victim under the age of 16 to produce child pornography from Nov. 9 to Dec. 9, 2022. He is also charged with one count of being a registered sex offender and committing a felony offense involving a minor and one count of transferring obscene material to the child victim.

Daniels is a registered sex offender after having been previously convicted of statutory rape, two counts of statutory sodomy, and interference with custody in Greene County.

The charges contained in this indictment 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.

HSI, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, the Springfield Police Department and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan is prosecuting.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. attorneys' offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Learn more about HSI’s mission to combat child exploitation in your community on Twitter @HSIKansasCity.