A Farley, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexually assaulting a 3-year-old victim to produce child pornography and distribute it to others through the Kik application.

Andrew J. McCardie, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to two counts of producing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography. McCardie remains in federal custody without bond pending his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

McCardie communicated with individuals through the Kik application beginning in January 2022, using a screen name to indicate he was willing and able to produce child pornography and distribute to other persons. McCardie produced 19 images and videos of child pornography involving a 3-year-old child victim on Feb. 11 and 12, 2022. Most of these were created live, meaning he was recording himself actively sexually abusing the child victim while communicating with other persons over Kik, and sending those images and videos to them during the abuse.

On March 5, 2022, McCardie created another live video during his sexual abuse of the child victim. McCardie didn’t know he was communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer through Kik. McCardie told the undercover officer he had been “doing these requests on Kik for a couple years now” and discussed how to sexually abuse a child. During this conversation, McCardie sent the undercover officer a screenshot of a chat he was having with the Kik user he produced the video for, in order to prove he had created the video live.

On March 6, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at McCardie’s residence. The entry team attempted to take control of McCardie near the entrance of the residence but he resisted, initially holding a firearm as officers entered. McCardie was brought out into the yard, where he continued to resist before being handcuffed and placed under arrest. McCardie attempted to hide his iPhone in the bedroom closet, but officers found the phone and seized it in order to conduct a forensic investigation.

McCardie’s Kik account included 218 images and videos of child pornography. McCardie sent 58 separate videos and images of child pornography to other Kik users, and had received more than 200 images and videos of child pornography from other Kik users between Jan. 2 and March 7, 2022.

Under federal statutes, McCardie is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 80 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino. 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."

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