Lucas Wayne Slusser, 35, of Jefferson City, was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison without the possibility of parole for receiving and distributing child pornography.
Tom Larson, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced in a news release Slusser had been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough.
Slusser pleaded guilty May 15 and admitted he had sent and received hundreds of videos and photos of child pornography online, including images of toddlers and infants, according to the news release.
A federal agent observed Slusser distributing child pornography on the Kik Messenger platform in May and June 2016. Slusser posted a video and five images of child pornography on one occasion. He later posted "an image of a female child bound with rope around her legs and arms" and additional child pornography videos.
Agents executed a search warrant at Slusser's residence Aug. 26, 2016, and seized numerous digital devices, including a desktop computer and multiple cellphones. Investigators examined the devices and identified numerous child pornography files.
Investigators found on Slusser's computer and cellphones "1,507 files depicting infants and toddlers, 77 files depicting violent sexual acts against children and 49 child pornography videos that contained sexual acts with animals," according to court documents the news release cited.
Investigators also found "child erotica and internet history that indicated Slusser was seeking out and sharing child pornography."
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner prosecuted Slusser's case.
The case was brought as part of "Project Safe Childhood," a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to "combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse." Project Safe Childhood is led by the U.S. Attorneys' Office and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
The project "marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims."