Man Admits Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material When a Minor, Distributing as Adult

CAPE GIRARDEAU - A man from Wayne County, Missouri on Tuesday admitted distributing child sexual abuse material that he produced as a minor.

Tanner Stevens, 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of receiving child pornography. He admitted viewing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) beginning when he was 13 or 14. Stevens took pictures of two minors when he was a minor and uploaded them to X when he was 21. The investigation began when the Missouri State Highway Patrol Special Victims Unit received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding someone who uploaded CSAM into Google Photos. Investigators traced the account to Stevens. Stevens' cellular phone contained over 100 videos and over 400 images containing CSAM.

Stevens is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17. The charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter 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. For more information, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.