A St. Louis man has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for possession of child pornography, following his role as a moderator in multiple online groups that distributed child sexual abuse material (CSAM). U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk handed down the 84-month sentence and ordered the defendant to pay $10,000 in restitution to victims.
David Korte Daues, 37, pleaded guilty in September to one count of possession of child pornography in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. During court proceedings, Daues admitted he was involved with approximately 25 CSAM-sharing groups on the messaging app Kik and five similar groups on Wire. He also acknowledged distributing CSAM within these forums and possessing illicit images and videos on two cell phones.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation into Daues’ activities, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
According to officials, this prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006—to address online child exploitation by coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local agencies to find offenders and rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
