A St. Louis County man has pleaded guilty to charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography. James C. Astorian, 40, admitted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to sharing child sexual abuse material with an undercover officer from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Astorian was caught distributing multiple images and videos containing illicit content via a peer-to-peer network in January 2020. A subsequent search of his home by St. Louis County police uncovered electronic devices holding 6,110 images and 728 videos of child pornography. Astorian confessed to investigators that he had been engaging in this activity for approximately two years.
His sentencing is set for August 13, where he faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The investigation was conducted by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is handling the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The project coordinates federal, state, and local efforts to apprehend offenders and rescue victims of online child exploitation.