Grand jury indicts Carthage man who told undercover FBI agent he wanted to abduct, rape child

A federal grand jury indicted a Carthage man on child pornography charges today.

According to the indictment, James Allen Beam, 35, received and distributed child pornography between January 1, 2021 and April 20, 2023.

Beam has been held in the Greene County Jail in Springfield since his April arrest.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in April after his arrest, attention was focused on Beam after a KIK discussion he had with a Fresno, California FBI undercover agent in which Beam said he a sexual interest in children.

Beam suggested a meeting with the undercover agent, so he could have sex with the man's niece, according to the affidavit. He told the agent he had a 1-year-old daughter who lived with her mom.

On April 14, 2023, the target informed the UC (undercover agent) of his intent to abduct and "rape" a child. The target advised there were several old houses in the country near him that he could take the child to. He indicated that his preference was girls "7 and up."

Feeling there was an imminent risk of harm to a child, the agent contacted KIK and received Beam's e-mail address.
Beam sent the agent a photo of a fully clothed young girl he identified as his daughter. Using facial recognition technology, the agent was able to identify the girl, a Lamar resident who was not Beam's daughter, but who was a relative, according to the affidavit.

On April 14, Beam forwarded a 20-second video to the agent showing a naked underage girl with an adult male and told the agent the video had been sent to him by another KIK user.

After that, Beam sent a 9-second video showing an adult male in a red shirt, khaki shorts and dark colored sneakers masturbating. The man had a distinctive tattoo on his left arm.

A photo on Beam's Facebook page indicated he had the same tattoo on his left arm.