Springfield man pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, weapons offense

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Springfield)

A Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the sexual exploitation of a child and to illegally possessing a firearm.

Corey Dean Frasher, 42, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to the charges contained in an April 6, 2017, federal indictment. Frasher remains in federal custody.

The investigation began on Jan. 30, 2017, when law enforcement officers received two Cyber Tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In the CyberTips, Yahoo! Reported that an individual (later identified as Frasher) had uploaded images of child pornography to his Flickr account.

Officers executed a search warrant at Frasher’s residence on Feb. 22, 2017, and seized a computer tower as well as a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun and a loaded Harrington & Richardson 16-gauge shotgun. Investigators examined the computer tower and found a series of child pornography images and videos that were taken at Frasher’s residence. The images and videos depicted Frasher engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a minor victim.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Frasher has prior felony convictions.

Under federal statutes, Frasher is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.