KC Reporter

A man from Prairie Home, Missouri, has been sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. Bradley Leigh Knecht, 30, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough and will be on supervised release for life following his incarceration.

Knecht pleaded guilty to the charges on April 4, 2024. He is also required to register as a sex offender due to previous convictions in Arkansas for possessing child pornography.

The investigation began when the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force received a report on August 17, 2022. It was revealed that Knecht had uploaded several nude images of young girls to Snapchat. He was arrested during a traffic stop by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on September 9, 2022, after failing to register as a sex offender in Cooper County.

During the arrest, electronic devices were seized which led investigators to multiple social media accounts including Snapchat where original child sexual abuse material was found. Knecht used these accounts to pose as a minor and engage with other minors online.

Further investigation uncovered nude images of a child victim under age 14. Knecht impersonated this victim to solicit pornographic images from other children. In May 2022, he exchanged messages with individuals claiming to be minors and requested explicit content from them.

Knecht also sold the child's images using CashApp, conducting over 100 transactions before his arrest.

He had previously pleaded guilty in 2020 for not registering as a sex offender in Moniteau County and residing too close to a school.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner prosecuted the case which was investigated by the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force and the FBI.

This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation since its launch in May 2006.

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