NEOSHO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD PORN

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Neosho, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to receiving and distributing child pornography.

Blake Altman, 33, of Neosho, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the charge contained in a June 16, 2015, federal indictment.



Altman admitted that he received and distributed child pornography over the Internet from Aug. 14 to Oct. 1, 2014.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Altman’s residence after he was identified in an undercover investigation into the distribution of child pornography via peer-to-peer file-sharing software.

Undercover officers downloaded images and videos of child pornography from Altman’s computer and seized Altman’s laptop computer, which contained images and videos of child pornography.

Under federal statutes, Altman is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole.

The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.