SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Grovespring, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court on July 6, 2023, for receiving and distributing child pornography.
James Michael Justice, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Justice to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration.
On Nov. 21, 2022, Justice pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.
Justice was arrested on Feb. 15, 2022, when troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol executed a search warrant at his residence. Troopers seized three cell phones and two laptop computers. Investigators conducted a forensic examination and found images and videos of child pornography on Justice’s cell phone.
Justice also faces felony state charges for child molestation and sexual conduct involving a child under 15.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Wright County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
