El Dorado Springs man pleads guilty to child pornography charge

Special to the Daily Mail

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Todd P. Graves, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an El Dorado Springs, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to possessing child pornography.

Jason R. Burns, 20, of El Dorado Springs, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr this morning to the charge contained in a July 8, 2005, federal indictment.

Burns admitted that his computer contained child pornography on Aug. 12, 2004. Shortly before the computer was seized by law enforcement officers, Graves said, Burns used it to show images of child pornography to two little girls under the age of 10.

By pleading guilty today, Burns also agreed to forfeit to the government the Hewlett Packard Pavilion computer that he used to acquire and possess child pornography.

Under federal statutes, Burns could be subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose A. Barber. It was investigated by the Cedar County, Mo., Sheriff's Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.