KC Reporter

A man from Carthage, Missouri, has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to the sexual exploitation of a child. Uriah Behl, aged 40, admitted guilt before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of sexual exploitation of children. Behl confessed to secretly recording a naked juvenile in a shower.

The investigation was initiated when the Jasper County Sheriff's Office received a report about a camera found in a community shower room in Carthage. A cell phone was discovered recording through a crack in an open cabinet door under the bathroom sink. The phone contained several videos with multiple victims, including a juvenile.

During an interview after being read his Miranda rights, Behl acknowledged setting up the phone to record the entire room when motion was detected. He claimed no intention to record the juvenile victim; however, video clips focused on the naked juvenile with exposed genitals.

Behl consented to let officers search both his recording phone and his personal cell phone used for calls and texting. A forensic examination revealed over an hour of footage from the shower room and numerous clips featuring the naked juvenile victim. Additionally, there were multiple searches for child pornography and 161 images depicting child pornography downloaded from the internet.

Under federal law, Behl faces a sentence ranging from 15 to 30 years in prison without parole. The final 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.

Upon release from prison, Behl will be required to register as a sex offender and comply with federal and state registration requirements potentially for life.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan is prosecuting this case, which was investigated by various agencies including the Jasper County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

This case 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 nationwide. The project coordinates resources at federal, state, and local levels to apprehend individuals exploiting children and rescue victims.

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