A registered sex offender from Chesterfield has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for possessing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark delivered the sentence on Tuesday.
Charles R. Hamilton, aged 66, was found with 1,288 image files and 185 video files containing child sexual abuse material on his phone. The investigation began in May 2023 when law enforcement officers in Alabama identified a Kik social media account used to distribute such material. This account was traced back to Hamilton, who had previous convictions as a sex offender.
During an interview with investigators on May 25, 2023, Hamilton allowed them to search his phone. The search revealed images of child pornography that matched those distributed through the Kik account. A forensic examination showed that Hamilton had also used Instagram and Telegram accounts for receiving and transmitting child pornography.
In August, Hamilton pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the St. Louis County Police Department, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is handling the prosecution.