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United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri

12/18/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/18/2025 13:23

Missouri Felon Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison for Child Pornography, Meth Crimes

Press Release

Missouri Felon Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison for Child Pornography, Meth Crimes

Thursday, December 18, 2025
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri

CAPE GIRARDEAU - U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Thursday sentenced a man who recorded his criminal sex act with a child and possessed drugs to 33 years in prison.

Rayshaun Reed, 37, pleaded guilty in July to three felonies: possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography. He admitted recording a sex act with the teen, possessing drugs and possessing other images containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The victim's parents triggered the investigation by contacting the Hayti Police Department with concerns about Reed. Officers conducted a court-approved search of Reed's motel room and found six bags of meth totaling about 25 grams in weight, three bags of marijuana totaling about 22 grams, a bag of "K2" synthetic marijuana and clothing belonging to the victim. His phone contained at least 16 videos depicting CSAM that had been downloaded from the internet.

Reed was on supervised release at the time of his crimes, having previously been convicted of distribution of methamphetamine. Judge Limbaugh sentenced Reed to 36 months for violating his supervised release and a total of 30 years for his new crimes. Reed will be on supervised release for 20 years after his release from prison and will receive sex offender treatment while in custody.

The Hayti Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Contact

Robert Patrick, Public Affairs Officer, [email protected].

Updated December 18, 2025
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri published this content on December 18, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on December 18, 2025 at 19:23 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]