Cole County Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges Involving Multiple Victims

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A Cole County, Mo., resident Anthony Dale Pitts-Fugate, 33, pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of production of child pornography in two separate cases.

According to court documents filed in this case, in March 2023, the defendant communicated with a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Task Force Officer who was acting in an online undercover (UC) capacity as part of the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force operating out of a satellite office in Washington, D.C. The UC was monitoring a public online group to include members actively involved in the distribution, possession, receipt and production of child exploitation material (CSAM.) During his communication with the UC, the defendant sent CSAM depicting a pre-pubescent child to the UC. The defendant produced the CSAM image he sent to the UC.

In April 2023, a witness reported to the Cole County Sheriff's Department that the defendant contacted her when she was 16 years old and requested sexually explicit photos. FBI agents applied for and received search warrants for the defendant's SnapChat accounts. A review of the SnapChat records showed the defendant used a false persona of a 16-year-old male and to cause at least two minor females to produce CSAM.

Under federal statutes, the defendant is subject to a sentence of up to 60 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. Attorney Ashley S. Turner It was investigated by The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Jefferson City Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

The defendant will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.