Columbia resident arrested on possession of child pornography
The case has been under investigation since July.
Published Sept. 22, 2009
On Sept. 17, the Boone County Prosecuting Attorney charged a Webster Groves man with possession and promoting of child pornography, a news release from the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force stated.
The Task Force has been investigating this case since late July, Task Force Coordinator Andy Anderson said.
The day after the charges were filed against him, 22-year-old David Sachs turned himself in to the Boone County Circuit Court. Boone County Court Marshals then arrested him, the release stated.
Sachs was arrested following a joint investigation of two Internet crime task forces.
The St. Louis County Police Internet Crimes Task Force notified the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Force of an investigation into the alleged distribution of child pornography after Sachs, a suspect in the case, moved to Columbia.
Investigators of the Task Force then contacted Sachs, who was allegedly in the process of downloading and distributing videos of suspected child pornography, the release stated.
In late July, the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force seized Sachs' computer and examined it for evidence. The computer contained more than 80 videos of suspected sexual molestation of children. According to the news release, many of the children victimized in the videos are prepubescent.
Sachs has been charged with two class B felonies. If convicted, he faces a five to 15 year prison sentence for each count, Anderson said. Anderson also said it is rare for someone to receive a maximum sentence.
Sachs, who has been released on a $20,000 bond, could be charged with one count of a class B felony for every file of child pornography on his computer but that would be highly unlikely, Anderson said.
In cases of Internet distribution of child pornography, investigators focus on finding those distributing the material, Anderson said. Even when distributors are discovered, it is difficult to locate people who have downloaded the material.
"Any particular person he might have obtained files from or who uploaded (Sachs' files) would be difficult to identify," Anderson said. "We are constantly looking for people distributing with Internet file sharing programs."
9:24 a.m., Sept. 26, 2009
Jac-E Reiser said:
Alicia, Your mom told me you had published several articles. I've been reading thru them. Nice work!!! She says you love it at Mizzou....so glad to hear that. We always really liked visiting. Hunter loved it too. He's still their biggest football fan. Have a slice at Shakespeare's for me, Jac-E Reiser