Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Daniel Phillip Beckman, 46, of Watson, Missouri, pleaded guilty yesterday to receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about November 27, 2022, Beckman began communicating while at his Missouri residence with a minor female living within the Southern District of West Virginia through the Snapchat multimedia instant messaging application. During these Snapchat communications, Beckman offered to pay the minor female in exchange for her sending him nude images and videos of herself.

Beckman admitted that he paid the minor female approximately $625 through the CashApp mobile payment service in exchange for numerous images and videos that the minor female sent him using Snapchat. Some of these images showed the minor female’s vaginal area or depicted her masturbating. Beckman admitted that he believed the female to be a minor when he received her photos and videos, and that he saved several of the images to his phone.

On or about December 6, 2022, the minor female introduced Beckman to her friend, also a minor female. Beckman admitted that he began communicating with the other minor female on Snapchat and paid her through CashApp for several images and videos that depicted her nude pubic area. Beckman further admitted that he believed her to be a minor when he received the images, and that he specifically described to her how he wanted her to pose.

Beckman is scheduled to be sentenced on February 6, 2024, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Beckman must also register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the West Virginia State Police.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-158. 

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