KC Man Sentenced for Child Pornography

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for attempting to distribute child pornography over the internet.

Donnie Brett Butcher, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Butcher to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration.

Butcher pleaded guilty on Aug. 17, 2018. The investigation began when a federal undercover agent was contacted online by Butcher, who shared the password to two online folders that contained images and videos of child pornography. FBI agents executed a search warrant at Butcher’s residence on March 6, 2017, and seized various electronics media, including a MacBook computer and an external hard drive.

Although Butcher admitted to agents that he downloaded and exchanged child pornography with his MacBook computer, which contained full-disk encryption, he refused to provide a password so that investigators could examine the computer. Investigators found approximately 11,000 images and videos of child pornography on external storage devices, including videos depicting bondage, bestiality and sexually explicit activity with toddlers.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by 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."