KC Reporter

A Clinton, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender has been sentenced in federal court for receiving child pornography over the internet.

Roger Lee Kempke, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Wednesday, July 31, to 25 years and five months in federal prison without parole. The court sentenced Kempke to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration and ordered him to pay $81,000 in restitution to his victims.

Kempke, who has a prior conviction for sexually assaulting a minor, pleaded guilty on Nov. 6, 2023, to one count of receiving child pornography.

Kempke admitted that he uploaded an image of child pornography to Microsoft’s Bing Image search on March 16, 2022. A Cyber Tip was issued to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which contacted the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

On June 7, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Kempke’s residence, which was within 1,000 feet of three different elementary and high schools. Officers seized three desktop computers and numerous USB thumb drives. Investigators found 5,521 images and nine videos of child sexual abuse material on Kempke’s electronic devices.

A forensic examination of one of the hard drives in Kempke’s desktop computers found that on three separate occasions in November 2021 Kempke downloaded hundreds of files of child pornography. He saved these images to a USB storage device that was connected to his computer. One of the USB drives contained thousands of images of child pornography, including images of children under the age of 10 and infants.

Officers also found 16 marijuana plants in Kempke’s residence along with other equipment consistent with growing, harvesting, and consuming marijuana.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen A. Brackett. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identify rescue victims.