Federal judge cites history of creating child porn with infants, domestic violence, orders former Joplin woman held without bond

A woman who told a federal investigator that she created child pornography with infants, including at least two videos made while she was living in Joplin, will be held without bond while awaiting trial.

In an order issued Friday, U S. District Court Judge Matthew Stinnett said Paige Cagle, 25, is a "danger to the community," and rejected her request that she be allowed to stay with her father, a federal law enforcement who lives in a condominium in Colorado, noting that several children live there.

Probable cause affidavit: Former Joplin resident, mother of two, created child pornography with infants

Cagle told Agent Romagnoli she is attracted to children under the age of fourteen and knows she is continuing the cycle of abuse that she experienced as a child. She admitted she has been collecting child pornography since the age of fourteen. Cagle poses a significant risk of danger to the community, as it appears she has difficulty controlling her urge to view, possess, and/or produce child pornography. She also has a history of domestic violence altercations as recently as February 2019. This indicates Cagle is physically violent to those around her as well as an alleged sexual predator. 

 Cagle was arrested Monday by federal officers in Kentucky Monday following an investigation that began with the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, who received information from another person they were investigating and who was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury, Levi Erwin, Anderson, that Cagle had sent him child pornography.







In his order, Judge Stinnett noted several reasons for not allowing Cagle to have bond.

The United States pointed to several facts which indicate Cagle is a flight risk or poses a risk of nonappearance. Cagle is twenty-five years old and has two children, ages 2 and 11 months. Her children have resided in Winchester, Kentucky, with her grandmother since these charges were filed. This is Cagle’s primary tie to the Eastern District of Kentucky, but due to the pending charges, Cagle is not permitted to see her children. 

Cagle has lived in Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida, Colorado, and Arkansas. Cagle’s mother lives in Florida. Cagle was living in a hotel at the time she was arrested on the instant charges. She is homeless and unemployed. 

Although her father is a federal law enforcement officer and has offered to ensure her appearance in court, her father travels for work approximately two nights per week, and four to six nights per month he is not in the United States.This will make it difficult, if not impossible, for her father to ensure that she appears at all of her court dates in Kentucky. 

Weighing these facts, the Court finds that there are no conditions or combination or conditions which would assure his appearance at future Court proceedings.

Cagle relied on the argument of counsel to overcome her presumption that she was a danger to the community. Cagle proffered that she can be monitored via global positioning system. She will have no access to the Internet at her father’s residence because it will be password-protected. She will likewise have no access to the devices capable of browsing or communicating on the Internet, such as iPhones and laptops. 

Consequently, Cagle rebutted the initial presumption. Upon examination of the relevant factors under the BRA, however, the United States proved by clear and convincing evidence that Cagle posed a danger to another person or to the community. 

The first factor to consider is the “nature and circumstances of the offense charged, including whether the offense is a crime of violence […] or involves a minor victim[.]” Cagle stands accused of two counts of producing child pornography. 

According to Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Michael H. Romagnoli’s Affidavit in Support of the Complaint, Cagle admitted to recording herself sexual abusing her minor child on more than one occasion and sharing those videos using the Internet. 

Although the United States did not raise the issues at the detention hearing, there are two other facts that weigh in favor of detention based on risk of flight or nonappearance: the steep penalties Cagle is facing in this matter and her history of drug use. 

The second factor concerns the “weight of the evidence against the person.” “This factor goes to the weight of evidence of dangerousness, not the weight of the evidence of defendant’s guilt.” The evidence of Cagle’s dangerousness is substantial: she admitted she sexually abused her own child on multiple occasions; she admitted she produced, distributed, and received child pornography; and she has three separate domestic violence incidents in her background 

“Just one sexually-related offense against just one minor is enough to imply dangerousness.” United States v. Demarcus Bristuan Fitzhugh, Cagle admitted to abusing her own child more than once and to possessing child pornography featuring numerous other child victims. This factor weighs heavily in favor of detention. 

The third factor, the “history and characteristics of the person,” considers a host of issues. Cagle’s criminal history includes a charge for 4th degree assault— domestic violence, which was amended down to an ultimate conviction for harassment without physical contact.

She has also had two domestic violence orders filed against her by two different individuals. These appear to be in addition to the assault charge. The most recent domestic violence order was filed in February 2019, but was dismissed a few days later at the request of the victim. 

Cagle has a history of frequent drug and alcohol abuse that began when she was thirteen years old. She has been unemployed for a long period of time. This factor weighs heavily in favor of detention.  

The final factor to consider is “the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community that would be posed by the person’s release.” Cagle offered that she could live with her father in Colorado. Her father lives in a condominium community with children nearby, including children in the unit next door. 

Cagle told Agent Romagnoli she is attracted to children under the age of fourteen and knows she is continuing the cycle of abuse that she experienced as a child. She admitted she has been collecting child pornography since the age of fourteen. 

Cagle poses a significant risk of danger to the community, as it appears she has difficulty controlling her urge to view, possess, and/or produce child pornography. She also has a history of domestic violence altercations as recently as February 2019. This indicates Cagle is physically violent to those around her as well as an alleged sexual predator. This factor favors a finding of pre-trial detention. 

The Court finds that the conditions Cagle proposed are insufficient to mitigate the serious risks to the community. Accordingly, based upon an examination of the relevant factors discussed above, the Court finds that the United States has established by clear and convincing evidence that Cagle is a danger to another person or to the community.