Hannibal Man’s Threats Led to Discovery of Child Pornograph

ST. LOUIS - A man from Hannibal, Missouri on Tuesday admitted possessing child sexual abuse material that was discovered after he threatened a former paramour.

Joseph E. Courtney, 38, admitted in his guilty plea that he threatened the woman on Sept. 10, 2024. Among other messages, Courtney wrote, "I sleep and wake up with thoughts of killing you." After his arrest for threatening behavior, investigators conducted a court-approved search of his phone and spotted possible child sexual abuse material (CSAM). A second search warrant then uncovered 62 videos containing CSAM, including the sexual assault of crying children.

Courtney pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The Hannibal Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.