Sex Offender Caught with Child Pornography at Halfway House Sentenced to More than 11 Years in Prison

CAPE GIRARDEAU - U.S. District Judge Cristian M. Stevens on Monday sentenced Leslie B. Clark, 60, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to 141 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to the offense of possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, Clark has a prior 2017 federal conviction for possessing child pornography. In May 2025, Clark was temporarily residing at a halfway house in Neelyville, Missouri following his release from federal prison. During that timeframe, investigators discovered that someone within the facility was uploading child sexual Abuse material through a social media messaging service. Investigators subsequently traced the account to Clark. As Clark was set to begin his term of supervised release, his assigned probation officer seized his cell phone and discovered several videos containing child pornography. At his guilty plea hearing in January, Clark admitted that he used his cell phone to obtain the videos.

After serving his 141-month sentence, Clark will be placed on a lifetime term of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Probation Office, the Southeast Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and the Poplar Bluff Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the government.