Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the internet.
Mark Comer, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 18 years in federal prison without parole. Comer will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.
On March 23, 2023, Comer pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography.
Law enforcement officers searched Comer’s laptop in July 2022 as part of an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse. Investigators found thousands of photos and videos of child pornography and child exploitative material.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, the FBI, and the Carl Junction, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”