A St. Louis resident has pleaded guilty to moderating an online chat group that shared child sexual abuse material. David Korte Daues, 37, entered his plea in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography.
The investigation began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children submitted a Cyber Tipline report about illegal content on the messaging app Kik. Authorities traced the account to Daues, who admitted to FBI agents that he operated the account and moderated a group on the Wire platform where such material was regularly posted. Daues said he started viewing this material about four years ago and participated in approximately 25 Kik groups and five Wire groups involved in sharing it. He also acknowledged distributing illegal images and videos in these groups, and investigators found such content on two of his cell phones.
Daues is set for sentencing on December 1. The offense carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine as high as $250,000, or both.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative started in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation online. The program coordinates federal, state, and local resources to identify offenders and victims. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
