Missouri man offered 4-year-old for sex on app, feds say. Now he’s going to prison
A Missouri man accused of offering up a young girl for sex on a popular app was sentenced to prison, federal prosecutors say.
A federal judge sentenced Anthony Leon Helsel, 32, to life in prison without parole after he pleaded guilty last year to sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of a minor, according to a U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri news release.
Helsel offered the 4-year-old for sex through the messaging app Kik, prosecutors say. He admitted to sexually assaulting the child in videos he shared with other Kik users. Helsel also is accused of uploading child pornography on Facebook, prosecutors say.
Helsel was communicating with former Joplin, Missouri, police officer Gary McKinney on Kik when law enforcement executed a search warrant at his home, prosecutors say. Helsel had shared pornographic images of children with McKinney on the app, prosecutors say.
Investigators found over 500 images and nearly 150 videos that contained child pornography on McKinney’s phone, according to a February news release.
McKinney was sentenced to 15 years in prison in February after pleading guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography. He owned a plumbing business and no longer was with the police department at the time of his arrest.
Prosecutors say Helsel produced hundreds of images and videos of sexual abuse against the child and repeatedly sent them to other Kik users. The investigation also revealed child pornography Helsel produced using a 1-year-old.
Helsel was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.
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