U.S. District Judge John A. Ross sentenced a former high school custodian to 63 months in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material. Bernard Ray Mennemeier, who was employed at a high school, uploaded five videos of such material to Dropbox, prompting an FBI investigation.
The investigation involved a court-approved search of Mennemeier’s Dropbox account and his home, where he was found with both child pornography and child erotica. Mennemeier admitted in his plea agreement to buying the material multiple times from someone on Twitter.
“This case was especially concerning given that Bernard Mennemeier was working in a high school at the time he possessed child sexual abuse material,” stated Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. He further mentioned that Mennemeier will not be allowed to work around children again due to mandatory sex offender registration.
Mennemeier, 58, from O’Fallon, Missouri, pleaded guilty in April to one count of possession of child pornography. The case was investigated by the FBI.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project involves federal, state, and local resources aimed at prosecuting individuals exploiting children online and rescuing victims.
