Webster Groves Man Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison on Child Pornography Charge

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a Webster Groves man to 150 months in prison for sending and receiving child sexual abuse material online.

Joseph A. Seiffertt, 44, possessed images and videos containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on his cell phone, as well as AI-powered apps that he used to depict clothed individuals, including minors, in the nude. Seiffertt also discussed the sexual abuse of minors with someone online and shared and received CSAM via the Kik Messenger app.

Seiffertt pleaded guilty in December to one count of possession of child pornography After his release from prison, Seiffertt will be on supervised release for life.

The FBI and the St. Louis County Special Investigations Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.