KC Reporter

A Kansas City man, Dennis Bruce Bean II, has been sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison for sharing and possessing child pornography. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs, who also ordered Bean to serve 15 years of supervised release after his incarceration and pay $16,000 in restitution to his victims.

Bean, a registered sex offender with a prior felony conviction for criminal sexual conduct, pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to transporting child pornography across state lines and possessing such material. He has been held in federal custody since his arrest.

The case against Bean began when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received three CyberTipline reports linked to him. Google reported on January 31, 2024, that approximately 1,442 files of child pornography had been uploaded to Bean’s Google Photos account over two months.

On April 5, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Bean's residence where he was found hiding in the backyard. Officers seized two cell phones and a one terabyte thumb drive containing more than 1,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse or erotica.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino prosecuted the case which was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse through collaboration among federal, state, and local resources.