Jefferson County man pleads guilty for receiving child pornography

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp accepted a plea of guilty from Brent Lawson on today’s date for receiving child pornography.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Lawson for the charge.  Judge Schelp set sentencing for March 18, 2022. 

On or between May 24, 2019 and November 24, 2020, in the Eastern District of Missouri, Lawson knowingly received and possessed images and videos over the internet of prepubescent minors, including minors under the age of twelve, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On May 24, 2019, Lawson, utilizing the internet, accessed child sexual abuse and exploitation material on a website that was an online bulletin board dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography.  Law enforcement infiltrated that website and identified Lawson as having accessed the website. 

Subsequently, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Lawson’s residence that was executed on November 24, 2020. Forensic analysis of electronics seized by law enforcement during the search confirmed Lawson possessed fifty-four videos of child pornography that he downloaded from the internet.

Lawson was previously convicted on April 22, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for transportation of child pornography, attempted receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. In that case the defendant pled guilty and was sentenced to sixty months imprisonment, followed by a period of three years on supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.