A man from Iowa pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to attempting to produce child pornography following his online harassment of a Callaway County teenager over five years.
David Dodds, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to produce child pornography. Dodds is a registered sex offender due to his conviction for the exhibition of obscene materials to minors. His sex offense conviction occurred after the conduct in this federal case.
By pleading guilty, Dodds admitted he initially contacted the child victim through her Instagram account when she was 13 years old and continued contacting her through Facebook Messenger and her cellphone until she was 18 years old. Her father contacted the Callaway County Sheriff's Department in February 2020 to report his 18-year-old daughter had been the victim of harassment and sexual enticement for several years.
According to authorities, after Dodds contacted the victim through Instagram, his behavior escalated to messaging her numerous times a day and sending her pornographic images of himself. Dodds also asked her to send nude photographs of herself, and the victim sent several nude photos of herself in 2015, when she was 14 years old.
The victim told investigators she became uncomfortable with the ongoing conversations with Dodds and attempted to cut off communications. He became agitated with her and began threatening to text her parents or friends if she didn't communicate with him. Dodds messaged her parents and left three voicemail messages on her boyfriend's phone telling him she had been cheating on both of them. The victim told investigators she began hiding in photos taken with friends or family that may end up on social media to avoid being seen. She began receiving contact from Dodds on Facebook Messenger and her cellphone so she turned off her phone at times in order to avoid any contact with Dodds.
The victim reported Dodds continued to harass her, which led to significant anxiety and caused her to quit several jobs. It became apparent that Dodds was monitoring her parents' public posts on Facebook, harassing her about going to prom or noting how they had been at Walmart looking for her. His behavior caused the victim to trade cellphones and delete Instagram and Facebook accounts.
The victim eventually disclosed the harassment to her family, who contacted law enforcement.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, the government and Dodds will jointly recommend a sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.