Joplin man charged with child pornography possession

The Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed a possession of child pornography charge against a Joplin man today.

Justin A. Dunagan (DOB 1982) was arrested following a sting operation by a "child predator" group, according to the probable cause statement.

From the probable cause statement:

Dunagan was initially contacted on August 5, 2025, in the evening by an online child predator group (referred to as “RP” for Reporting Party). 

The out of state group, RP, had been communicating with Dunagan via an online messaging app during the month of July 2025. RP’s profile impersonated itself as an eighteen-year-old female, but during conversations with Dunagan, RP stated they were a thirteen-year-old female. 

Dunagan believed he was communicating with a thirteen-year-old female in the chats and sent multiple images of his genitalia to the alleged minor (RP). 

Dunagan did not disclose his address to the minor; therefore, RP did an open-source search of Dunagan’s information to locate a possible address at 721 S. St. Charles Ave, Joplin, Missouri. 

On August 5, 2025, RP contacted Dunagan at his residence in Joplin and requested the Joplin Police Department to respond. Once Joplin Police arrived, RP provided evidence of the messages sent by Dunagan to their profile (Dunagan’s genitalia pictures). 

Dunagan stated he used his cell phone to communicate with RP. Dunagan gave verbal and written consent to Joplin Officers to search his phone for evidence of the crime. 

After a forensic examination of Dunagan’s device, Forensics identified forty-four still images of suspected child pornography material. The images would be described as obscene and sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. The youngest child observed in the images was infant/toddler age. 

During an interview with Dunagan, he stated he used multiple online applications to connect with others. Other unknown users would ask him to “trade videos, pictures, and/or links” of child pornography. He did not distribute the illegal material, but he would download the child pornography sent to him via the applications.

The case was investigated by the Joplin Police Department.