KC Reporter

A Lawson, Missouri man, who is a registered sex offender, pleaded guilty in federal court today to distributing child pornography over the internet.

Lance M. Berry, 37, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of distributing child pornography.

Berry, the owner of a business in Lawson at the time of his offense, has a prior conviction in Ray County for deviate sexual assault of a child under 13, which requires him to register as a sex offender.

By pleading guilty today, Berry admitted that he used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program on June 1, 2022, to distribute images and videos of child pornography. On that day, an undercover officer with the Missouri State Highway Patrol connected to Berry’s cell phone and downloaded 14 videos of child pornography.

Court documents revealed that Berry’s cell phone contained 944 unique images of child pornography, including 19 depicting sadistic or masochistic violence against minors and 168 featuring infants or toddlers. Additionally, there were 40 videos containing similar content.

Under federal statutes, Berry faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole and could be sentenced up to 40 years. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on advisory guidelines and other statutory factors following a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino is prosecuting the case. The investigation was conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI.

This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children while identifying and rescuing victims. More information can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc.