Dylan James, 25, of De Soto admitted in federal court that he either recorded or requested sexually explicated videos or pictures from three girls who were younger than 18, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office reported.
On Aug. 28, James pleaded guilty to charges of production of child pornography and distribution of child pornography in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2, according to court documents.
The production charge carries a penalty of at least 15 years in prison, and the distribution charge is punishable by five to 20 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
James also is facing sodomy and child pornography charges in Jefferson County.
Last year, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged him with statutory sodomy, an unclassified felony; second-degree promoting child pornography to a minor; and possession of child pornography. The two pornography charges are class B felonies.
James is scheduled to appear in Jefferson County Court on Oct. 30, court records show.
The unclassified felony carries a penalty of five years to life in prison, and the class B felonies are punishable by five to 15 years in prison.
According to the guilty plea filed in federal court, one of the victim’s mothers in April 2024 learned her daughter was in a video that James recorded of a sexual encounter with her. The girl told investigators she had met James in March 2024 while at a friend’s house in De Soto, and she got into a vehicle he was driving after he told her, “I got booze, hop in,” according to a probable-cause statement filed by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
She said after driving around for about five minutes, James parked and then recorded their sexual encounter that he later shared with one of her friends, the report and guilty plea said.
According to the guilty plea, James told investigators he was “coerced” into making the recording by a threat of a false rape allegation. He also admitted to sending the video to another girl and cursed about the victim while in the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro after being arrested.
When investigators examined James’s phone, they found videos and pictures of two other girls, the plea deal said.
One of the girls is from Jefferson County, and she told investigators James provided her with alcohol and vapes for sexually explicit pictures of herself, according to the guilty plea.
The other girl is from North Carolina and has no connection with the other two victims. She told investigators she was in a relationship with a man who played online games with James, and James had requested sexually explicit pictures and videos of her and paid her for the materials through CashApp, the guilty plea said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, St. Louis County Police and FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For information about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/psc.