Jefferson County Man Admits Providing Alcohol, Vapes to Minor for Sex

ST. LOUIS –A man from Jefferson County, Missouri on Thursday admitted exchanging items of value including drugs and vape cartridges with an underage girl in exchange for sexual activity.

Kody L. Willyard, 32, of Barnhart, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of coercion and enticement of a minor. He admitted providing marijuana, alcohol, vaping devices and vape cartridges to a girl when she was 14 and 15 years old in exchange for sexual activity.

The victim’s father uncovered Willyard’s crimes when he reviewed the victim’s social media and digital communications. He then contacted law enforcement. The victim told authorities that Willyard had also provided items of value to another girl in exchange for sexual acts.

At Willyard’s sentencing, scheduled for September, both Willyard’s lawyer and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson will recommend 15 years in prison. The crime carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years.

The FBI, the St. Louis County Police Department Special Investigations Unit and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc.