Show-Me State Times

U.S. District Judge John A. Ross sentenced Bernard Ray Mennemeier, a former high school custodian, to 63 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. Mennemeier was found guilty of possessing child sexual abuse material.

The investigation began when Mennemeier uploaded five videos containing such material to Dropbox, prompting an FBI inquiry. The FBI conducted searches of both his Dropbox account and his home, discovering child pornography and erotica. According to his plea agreement, Mennemeier admitted to buying child sexual abuse material multiple times through Twitter.

Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division stated, "This case was especially concerning given that Bernard Mennemeier was working in a high school at the time he possessed child sexual abuse material." He added that Mennemeier would be registered as a sex offender and barred from working around children again.

Mennemeier, 58, from O’Fallon, Missouri, pleaded guilty in April to one count of possession of child pornography. The case was investigated by the FBI.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project involves U.S. Attorneys' Offices and various resources aimed at prosecuting individuals exploiting children online while identifying and rescuing victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.