Brent Lawson, 45, of Barnhart has pleaded guilty to a federal charge for possession of child pornography. He was convicted more than 17 years ago for other child porn charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
Lawson pleaded guilty to the latest child porn charges on Dec. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in front of Judge Matthew T. Schelp. Lawson’s sentencing is set for March 18, 2022.
Lawson’s attorney and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have requested a 10-year prison sentence, according to the plea agreement.
Lawson admitted that from May 2019 through November 2020 he accessed a website that had sexually explicit images and videos of children, some of them younger than 12. The website, which is run outside the U.S., collects and shares images of children being sexually and physically abused, the report said.
Lawson had to install Tor software to gain access to the website. When law enforcement officers searched Lawson’s home on Nov. 24, 2020, they found 54 videos of child pornography that he had downloaded from the internet, the plea agreement said.
The FBI investigated the case. U.S. assistant prosecuting attorney Joseph W. Flees is handling the case.
In April 2004, Lawson was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to transportation of child pornography, attempted receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography, and after serving his sentence, he was placed on three years’ probation, according to the plea agreement.