KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A man has received just over 13 years in federal prison after being identified in two federal cases of distributing child pornography online.

On October 24, 2023, Joseph L. Schutz, of Independence, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of disturbing the Internet with child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

In early May 2020, an FBI task force officer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, went undercover posing as a woman using the Kik Messenger app.

The undercover officer joined several private groups dedicated to people interested in child pornography. The group openly shared material with each other.

Schutz, 39, admitted to sharing and receiving several videos and photos in one of the Kik groups.

On May 14, 2020, officers executed a search warrant at Schutz’s home. Investigators found 18 images of child erotica and eight images of child pornography on Schutz’s cell phone.

In July and August 2022, an FBI investigator in Texas spoke with Schutz online while conducting an undercover investigation. The undercover investigator posed as a 13-year-old girl.

Between July 28 and August 1, 2022, Schutz invited the undercover investigator to a Kik group dedicated to sharing child pornography. Schutz admitted that during that time he shared several child pornography videos within the group, again.

Schutz will serve 13 years and four months in a federal prison without parole. His sentence will be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Schutz will also be required to register as a sex offender when he is released. He will also be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements that may apply for the rest of his life.

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