A man from Jefferson County, Missouri, has admitted to attempting to meet a 16-year-old for sexual activity. Anthony Justin Snelson, aged 39 and residing in Arnold, Missouri, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. According to his plea, Snelson engaged in an inappropriate conversation with the teen through TikTok. The situation escalated when the victim’s mother discovered the conversation and began impersonating her daughter. She arranged for her daughter to call Snelson, during which he requested a nude photo and proposed meeting up.
The St. Louis County Police Department was alerted by the mother on August 12, 2024, after a meeting had been set up with Snelson. Upon his arrival at the agreed location, officers arrested him. In an interview with police following his arrest, Snelson admitted that his intention in meeting the teen was “to maybe mess around.”
Snelson is due for sentencing on September 30. The charge he faces carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years and could extend up to a maximum of 20 years.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the St. Louis County Police Department alongside the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lang is handling prosecution duties.
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The project unites federal, state, and local resources to apprehend individuals exploiting children via the Internet while also working to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
