Defendant sentenced in child porn case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Edward Grimes, 58, Maryville, has been sentenced in federal court to 19 years in prison without parole on charges related to child pornography.

Grimes, a registered sex offender, has prior felony convictions in New York for sexual abuse of a child, committing a criminal sexual act against a child under the age of 14, and endangering the welfare of a child who was 4 years old at the time of the offense.

On July 6, 2015, Grimes pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet, one count of attempting to receive child pornography over the Internet, and one count of possessing child pornography.

Court records show that he admitted attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet on March 29, 2013; that he attempted to receive child pornography over the Internet on Dec. 31, 2013; and that he possessed child pornography on Feb. 12, 2014.

According to Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, court documents cite a pattern of activity by Grimes involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of minors.

The documents further show that Grimes created a photo album on a file-sharing website on March 29, 2013 and posted 65 images of adult females and young girls in various states of undress. Among the photos were three pornographic photographs depicting girls approximately 12 to 13 years of age.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Grimes’s residence on Feb. 12, 2014. A gun was recovered, and Grimes was arrested on state charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Investigators also seized electronic media that contained child pornography movie files depicting nude girls approximately 3 to 6 years of age. Two hard drives and one thumb drive had a total of 132 child pornography images. Almost all of the photos were of prepubescent children.

Investigators also found four movie files, recorded by Grimes, of an approximately 10-year-old girl.