Missouri woman sentenced to 20 years for producing child pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A southwestern Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court Thursday for using a minor to produce child pornography.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force.

Chelese Penn, 25, of Hartville, Missouri, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Penn to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.

On June 11, 2015, Penn pleaded guilty to both counts contained in a Jan. 20, 2015, federal indictment. Penn admitted that she used a child, identified as Jane Doe #1, to produce child pornography between July 1, 2012, and Oct. 3, 2014. Penn also pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography over the Internet during that time.

The investigation began when undercover agents identified David Albert, 51, of Springfield, distributing pornographic images of an 11-year-old female over the Internet. Albert and Penn exchanged child pornography over the Internet. In a separate but related case, Albert was sentenced on Sept. 9, 2015, to 17 years and six months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child.

Following her prison term, Penn will be required to register as a sex offender under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) and keep the registration current in each of the jurisdictions where she resides, is employed and/or is a student.

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 12,000 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.