Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Joplin man sentenced to 12 years in prison on child porn charge

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Joplin, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

David Michel McCowan, 26, of Joplin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 12 years and seven months in federal prison without parole, which is the longest sentence recommended under the federal sentencing guidelines. The court also ordered McCowan to serve a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.

On Oct. 9, 2014, McCowan pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

According to court documents, an officer with the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force identified McCowan’s computer as utilizing a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download and share child pornography over the Internet. Officers executed a search a warrant and seized McCowan’s computer, which contained images of child pornography.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

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