KC Reporter

An Ava, Missouri man has been sentenced in federal court following the discovery of images depicting his repeated sexual assaults of two child victims. Harold Lloyd Blair, Jr., 67, received a 58-year federal prison sentence without parole from U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on June 20.

Blair pleaded guilty on January 30, 2024, to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He has also been implicated in the sexual abuse of two additional child victims.

The investigation commenced on December 2, 2022, when workers employed by Douglas County, Missouri were demolishing Blair’s former residence after he sold it to the county. During the demolition, workers discovered a filing cabinet containing numerous images of a young girl engaged in sexual acts with an older man. The workers contacted the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department and Blair was subsequently questioned by investigators.

Blair admitted that he was the man depicted in the photos taken in 2012 and 2013 when the two child victims were approximately 11 to 12 years old. In total, there were 52 photographs taken by Blair with a digital camera and printed from his computer. Blair told investigators that if he had remembered those photographs were in the house, he would have destroyed them.

Further investigation led authorities to search Blair’s storage unit where they found more images of child pornography. A total of 743 images of child pornography were discovered between the house and storage unit, most showing the sexual assault of two child victims.

Blair confessed to sexually assaulting one victim two to three times daily and showing adult pornography to each victim so they could imitate what they saw in the videos. Additionally, Blair admitted to sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl whom he moved across state lines attempting to find a state that would permit him to marry her without parental consent. Another victim reported being sexually abused by Blair at approximately three years old.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan prosecuted this case which involved investigations by multiple agencies including the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, West Plains Police Department, with assistance from the Douglas County Prosecuting Attorney.

This case falls under Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local resources to locate offenders and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood or Internet safety education visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.