A Missouri man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for producing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk delivered the sentence on Wednesday.
Steven Popple, aged 39 from Park Hills, Missouri, engaged in a relationship with an underage girl starting in May 2021, as detailed in his plea agreement. He exchanged sexual text messages with her and requested nude photos and videos. Popple instructed the victim on posing and performing certain acts. The victim sent approximately 300 photos and videos, and they later met to engage in sex acts.
Popple entered a guilty plea in June at the U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of production of child pornography.
"If it hadn't been for the victim's mother, this crime wouldn't have come to light," stated Special Agent in Charge Ashley T. Johnson of the FBI St. Louis Division. "Contacting law enforcement immediately reduces the risk of a perpetrator disposing of critical evidence."
The case was investigated by the FBI alongside the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards prosecuting.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The program coordinates federal, state, and local resources to locate and prosecute offenders while identifying victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.