KC Reporter

A Carthage, Mo., man, James Beam, 36, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison without parole for receiving and distributing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes also sentenced Beam to 20 years of supervised release and required him to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher and investigated by the Southwest Cybercrimes Task Force and the FBI.

According to the court proceedings, Beam pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography on Sept. 20, 2023. An undercover FBI agent contacted Beam through the Kik application in April 2023, where Beam expressed his sexual interest in children and his desire to engage in sexual activity with the undercover agent's niece. Beam even went as far as sending a video of child pornography and discussing his intent to abduct and rape a child, stating he knew of suitable locations for the crime.

Due to the imminent risk the undercover agent felt a child was in, an exigent request was submitted to Kik for Beam's account information, leading to his identification and location. The severity of Beam's actions was reflected in his sentencing, which includes 20 years of supervised release as well as the requirement to register as a sex offender, subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements for the rest of his life.

This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to rescue victims. The initiative involves cooperation between federal, state, and local resources to address the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood and Internet safety education, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."