A man from O’Fallon, Missouri admitted guilt in a child pornography case on Friday. Davie John Metzger, 55, confessed to possessing child sexual abuse material across several electronic devices and a cloud account. Metzger pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court to one count of receipt of child pornography.
He acknowledged having 369 images on a flash drive, 24 images on a hard drive, 211 in an online storage account, and 343 on a cell phone. This conduct led to three CyberTipline reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. One tip was triggered on June 30, 2023, when Metzger uploaded an image showing a young girl aged between 3 and 7. Further investigation revealed Metzger had taken unauthorized photos of women and girls in public.
Metzger is due for sentencing on July 8. The charge carries a minimum prison term of five years, potentially extending to 20 years. The FBI, alongside the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force, conducted the investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson handling the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, initiated by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address the increasing issue of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program involves the collaboration of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, aiming to effectively prosecute offenders and rescue victims. Additional information about Project Safe Childhood is available at www.justice.gov/psc.