Kansas City, Mo. (Dec. 23, 2024) — A nurse employed at the Kansas City V.A. Medical Center on Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City, Mo., has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges involving the distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography, according to federal prosecutors.
Paul Robert Wyatt, 56, of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, was charged with three felony counts: distributing child pornography on September 9, 2023, receiving child pornography on October 12, 2023, and possessing child pornography on November 22, 2023. The indictment alleges the material included explicit depictions of minors, including a victim under the age of 12.
The charges were unsealed after Wyatt’s arrest and initial court appearance on December 23, 2024. He remains in federal custody as prosecutors argued for his detention, citing the seriousness of the offenses and potential danger to the community.
According to court documents, Wyatt allegedly used a social media platform to share explicit content, including videos involving minors. Investigators linked Wyatt to the account after tracing IP addresses and conducting a search of his home. Authorities seized a Samsung Galaxy S21+ phone during the search, which reportedly contained multiple videos of suspected child pornography. Wyatt allegedly admitted to sharing content in online chat groups to maintain his membership.
If convicted, Wyatt faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and up to 20 years for each charge, as well as substantial fines and lifetime supervised release. Wyatt’s trial date has not yet been scheduled.
The FBI conducted the investigation, and the case is being prosecuted in the Western District of Missouri.
The charges are part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 to address the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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