Ex-Blue Springs High School employee pleads guilty to producing, sharing child porn
A former Blue Springs High School employee pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of producing and distributing child pornography after investigators allegedly found thousands of images and videos on his personal electronic devices in October 2019, federal prosecutors said.
Steven B. Allen, 45, of Independence, admitted to two counts of producing the child pornography and a single count of distributing child pornography over the internet, the U.S. Attorney’s office for Western Missouri announced. He was arrested in November 2019 on the charges and has remained in federal custody since then, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors alleged Allen communicated with an undercover officer in the United Kingdom who was posing as the father of a 10-year-old girl. During the course of their correspondence, Allen sent images of one of the minor victims and fantasized about sexually abusing a child.
In his guilty plea, Allen also admitted to sharing child pornography over the internet every couple of days over the course of five or six years.
Investigators later seized Allen’s electronic devices while executing a search warrant of his home. More than 9,200 images and 89 videos showing child pornography were found, prosecutors said, including hundreds of images showing infants and toddlers being sexually assaulted.
Images depicting violent sexual acts and bestiality were also found on Allen’s devices, authorities alleged.
Prosecutors say Allen is subject to a minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment without the possibility of parole. A sentencing hearing for Allen has yet to be scheduled, prosecutors said.
