CAPE GIRARDEAU (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri) – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a man who admitted recording his sexual activity with a child to 30 years in prison. Thirty-three-year-old Steven Lee Brown of Cape Girardeau pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in December to one count of producing child pornography.
According to court documents, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office received a report that Brown had sexually abused a ten-year-old child last May. The child was interviewed and confirmed the abuse. Officers immediately responded to Brown’s residence. During an interview, Brown admitted that he engaged in various sexual acts with the child. Brown further admitted that he used his cell phone to record some of the sexual activity. Officers seized Brown’s phone and discovered sexually explicit images of the minor child on the device. At his guilty plea hearing, Brown admitted that he used his cell phone to produce the sexually explicit material. After serving his 30-year sentence, Brown will be subject to lifetime supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the Government.