SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for sexually exploiting children by taking photographs of two minors as they engaged in various sex acts.

William Baker, 40, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 40 years in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 8, 2010, Baker, who has a prior conviction of sexual abuse of a nine-year-old victim, pleaded guilty to producing child pornography. Baker admitted that he used two minors, identified as 14-year-old Jane Doe and 16-year-old John Doe, to produce child pornography. Baker showed an adult pornographic video and provided alcoholic beverages to the minors on Jan. 9, 2009, then used a digital camera to take photographs of the pair engaging in a variety of sex acts. Investigators discovered 114 photographs of the two minors on both the camera and downloaded onto Baker’s computer.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

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 United States Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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