Melissa Jackson, 43, of House Springs has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for producing child pornography.
She was sentenced on Sept. 15 after pleading guilty on May 19 in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri to working with William E. Jackson, 46, of Pevely to produce pornographic pictures and sexually abusing and drugging a 6-year-old girl in November 2019, the plea agreement said.
Jackson worked as a nurse after initially working in the child care field, according to a letter her sister wrote as a character witness in the case.
Jackson recorded the pornographic images on her iPhone and discussed dosing the child with melatonin during the abuse, according to the plea agreement.
William Jackson pleaded Aug. 31 in federal court to a child pornography charge after he was caught in an FBI sting in April 2020 when he traveled to Illinois to engage in sexual acts with an undercover officer he believed was a 10-year-old girl, his plea agreement said. He is scheduled to be sentenced in November.
Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys have recommended that William Jackson be sentenced to 25 years in prison, with the term to be served concurrently, or at the same time, with sentences he is expected to receive in a child exploitation case in Jefferson County and an attempted child enticement case in federal court in East St. Louis , court documents show.
Melissa and William Jackson face felony charges for their conduct in Jefferson County.
Melissa Jackson has been charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and first-degree child molestation, all class A felonies, and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, a class C felony, court records said.
William Jackson has been charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and first-degree child molestation, according to court documents.
A class A felony carries a penalty of 10 to 30 years or life in prison, and a class C felony is punishable by three to 10 years in prison.