A Missouri man has admitted to charges related to child pornography in a U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Jason Michael Enke, 45, from Crawford County, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.
Enke confessed that between August 2023 and October 2023, he sent sexually explicit messages through social media and online chat sessions to five individuals who identified as minors. He also shared a video involving himself and a 16-year-old engaging in sexual acts and attempted to persuade the minors into similar conduct.
In November 2023, the FBI’s St. Louis office received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The tip indicated that Enke had sent a video containing child pornography to an Instagram user claiming to be 15 years old. A court-approved search by FBI agents at Enke’s home near Bourbon, Missouri uncovered videos with child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices.
Enke is set for sentencing on January 29, 2025. The charges for receipt and distribution carry potential penalties ranging from five to twenty years in prison, while the coercion charge could result in ten years to life imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI alongside the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
This legal action is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. It brings together federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders exploiting children via the Internet and rescue victims involved.
