Joplin Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Child Sexual Exploitation

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for recording cell phone videos of his sexual assaults upon a 9-year-old victim.

Richard James York, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 25 years in federal prison without parole.

On Jan. 31, 2018, York pleaded guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child. York admitted that he used a nine-year-old minor (identified as Jane Doe) to produce child pornography from March 1, 2017, to March 16, 2017. York sexually assaulted the child victim and made several videos of the assault with his cell phone. Those videos were discovered by another person, who contacted law enforcement.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force and the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s 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."