Lawson Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography

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Kansas City, Mo. – A Lawson, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court today to distributing child pornography over the internet.

Lance M. Berry, 37, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of distributing child pornography over the internet.

Berry, has a prior Ray County, Mo., conviction for the deviate sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, which required him to register as a sex offender.

By pleading guilty today, Berry admitted that he utilized a peer-to-peer file-sharing program on June 1, 2022, to make images and videos of child pornography available to other users over the internet. On that day, an undercover officer with the Missouri State Highway Patrol was able to directly connect to Berry’s cell phone and download 14 videos of child pornography.

According to court documents, Berry’s cell phone contained 944 unique images of child pornography, including 19 images of sadistic or masochistic violence against a minor, and 168 images featuring infants or toddlers. There were an additional 40 videos of child pornography, which also included depictions of sadistic or masochistic violence and/or infants and toddlers.

Under federal statutes, Berry is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino is prosecuting this case. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI.

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