HSI investigates Missouri man for child pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A Missouri man who was scheduled to begin his criminal jury trial April 28, instead pleaded in federal court to receiving child pornography over the internet.

The acting United States Attorney Teresa A. Moore made the announcement. Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

Scott James Wells, 55, withdrew his plea of not guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool in order to enter a nolo contendere, or “no contest,” plea, neither admitting nor disputing the federal charges against him, but acknowledging the government had sufficient evidence to convict him of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court found Wells guilty of one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. Wells remains detained in federal custody until his sentencing hearing.

Wells received child pornography over the internet between Dec. 15, 2016, through March 22, 2017. Law enforcement received two CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after Wells used his Facebook account to transmit two images of child pornography to another Facebook user.

Officers executed a search warrant at Wells’s residence and seized his laptop computer, which contained child pornography.

Under federal statutes, Wells is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 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.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James J. Kelleher and Nhan Nguyen. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of DHS and a vital U.S. asset in combatting transnational crime and threats. One of HSI’s top priorities is to protect the public from crimes of victimization, and HSI’s child exploitation investigations program is a central component of this mission set. HSI is recognized as a global leader in this investigative discipline, and is committed to utilizing its vast authorities, international footprint and strong government and non-government partnerships to identify and rescue child victims, identify and apprehend offenders, prevent transnational child sexual abuse, and help make the internet a safer place for children.

For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from online sexual abuse, visit HSI's iGuardians program.

To report a crime, call 866-347-2423 (TTY for hearing impaired: 802-872-6196) or visit the ICE Tip Line.