SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Kentucky truck driver and prior sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court today to transporting child pornography.

Gregory Marshall, 58, of Paducah, Kentucky, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.

According to court documents, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped the tractor trailer Marshall was driving on U.S. Highway 60 in Wright County, Mo., on June 17, 2018. The trooper discovered that Marshall was a non-compliant sex offender. Marshall was convicted of sodomy involving a 14-year-old victim in Kentucky in 1995. While searching the sleeper berth of the tractor, the trooper discovered a laptop computer and an external hard drive that contained child pornography.

Under federal statutes, Marshall is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. 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 James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

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."

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Kentucky truck driver and prior sex offender was indicted by a federal grand jury today for transporting child pornography.

Gregory Marshall, 57, of Paducah, Ky., was charged by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., with one count of transporting child pornography. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Marshall on June 21, 2018. Marshall was convicted of sodomy involving a 14-year-old victim in Kentucky in 1995.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped the tractor trailer Marshall was driving on U.S. Highway 60 in Wright County, Mo., on June 17, 2018. While searching the sleeper berth of the tractor, the affidavit says, the trooper discovered a laptop computer and an external hard drive that contained child pornography.

The charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

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."