Joplin Man Sentenced to 28 Years for Sexual Exploitation of Children

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for the sexual exploitation of several children.

David Allen Giffen, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 28 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Giffen to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.

On July 18, 2018, Giffen pleaded guilty to one count of the sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.

According to court documents, Giffen had placed cameras in his bathroom and secretly recorded images and videos of three children. Investigators found images of the victim children on a Micro SD card in Giffen’s cell phone. Investigators also seized a second cell phone from Giffen that contained multiple images of child pornography.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

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."