Taney County woman pleads guilty to sexually assaulting children aged 2 and 4, child pornography

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

A Merriam Woods, Missouri, woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexually assaulting two children to produce child pornography, and to receiving and distributing child pornography.

Tara Sau Millman, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of minors and one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. Millman has been in federal custody since her arrest and remains detained without bail.

By pleading guilty today, Millman admitted that a co-defendant used her iPhone to record video of her performing a sexual act on a 2-year-old child, identified in court documents as John Doe. Investigators also found images and videos of child pornography on Millman’s iPhone, including files that depicted Millman and her co-defendant sexually assaulting John Doe and a 4-year-old child victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe.

Millman also admitted that she used a social media application to share child pornography over the internet, and that she and her co-defendant viewed child pornography together.

The investigation began when agents with Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, California, began investigating users of a cloud storage platform (identified in court documents as “Cloud Platform A”). The cloud platform provides encrypted, cloud-based services that enable private, secure online storage, communication, and collaboration for business and individuals. During the investigation, the agents accessed a weblink to an encrypted chat room with approximately 145 registered users. Files containing child pornography were uploaded/posted by participants in the chat room. A search warrant was executed at Millman’s residence in Taney County, Mo., on Jan. 28, 2021.

Under federal statutes, Millman is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 50 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled upon the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.