Show-Me State Times

ST. LOUIS – A man from Kirksville, Missouri, Corey Alexander Wadel, has pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge after being caught by an undercover police officer posing as a 12-year-old girl. Wadel admitted to possessing more than 600 images containing child sexual abuse material and exchanging that material with others online. He also confessed to taking pictures of himself exposing his genitals to two young children.

The investigation began when law enforcement in the United Kingdom alerted Homeland Security Investigations about Wadel's conversations with an undercover officer pretending to be a twelve-year-old female. Wadel used Kik Messenger to send explicit images and videos of himself to the officer.

According to the plea agreement, both sides have recommended a 12-year prison sentence for Wadel when he is sentenced in July. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman handled the prosecution of the case.

This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet and to identify and rescue victims.