A Jefferson City man has pleaded guilty in federal court to receiving child pornography.
Dana Cline, 53, has been in federal custody since he was arrested in August 2018, according to U.S. Attorney's Office officials. He was scheduled to go to trial in this case next week. Cline will remain in custody until his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
In August 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Cline with one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the distribution and possession charges will be dismissed at Cline's sentencing hearing.
Cline could face five to 20 years in federal prison.
Due to the possibility of stiffer punishments, federal officials said, typically in cases such as this one, the county prosecutor's office would dismiss the state charges, which was done in Cline's case. The federal prosecutor then files a charge.
He was arrested on multiple local child pornography charges.
Authorities served a search warrant at Cline's home in June 2018, according to a Missouri Highway Patrol probable cause statement. He declined to speak with officers and was taken into custody.
A laptop computer was found in Cline's room and file-sharing software on the computer. Investigators said they determined the files contained child pornography.
They reviewed five of what they said were hundreds of files on the computer, in which they found videos ranging from one to four minutes in length. They featured juvenile girls, ages 5-9, involved in various sexual acts.