A man from St. Francois County, Missouri, has pleaded guilty to producing child sexual abuse material involving two minor victims. Richard James Miller, 41, admitted in U.S. District Court to two counts of production of child pornography.
According to court documents, Miller recorded his sexual abuse of the two juveniles on more than five occasions. One victim told investigators that Miller began engaging in sex acts with her when she was 15 years old. The other victim reported that she started spending time at Miller’s apartment when she was between 8 and 9 years old.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) became aware of Miller in 2024 after a search of a New Jersey man’s home uncovered Kik messenger chats between the man and Miller. These chats included images that were classified as child sexual abuse material. When interviewed by investigators, Miller admitted to engaging in sex acts with young girls at his residence, including the older victim. He also acknowledged exchanging sexually explicit photos with one of the victims.
Miller is scheduled for sentencing on May 4. The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of up to 30 years.
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman.
“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. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims,” according to information provided about Project Safe Childhood. Additional details about this initiative can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
