A Missouri man has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Portland, Maine, for advertising child pornography on the dark web. Larry Stendebach, 60, received a sentence of 17.5 years (210 months) in prison and will be subject to 10 years of supervised release following his incarceration. Stendebach entered a guilty plea on April 27, 2025.
Court records indicate that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Portland began investigating a dark web site focused on the sexual abuse of children in May 2024. Agents identified a profile belonging to Stendebach with more than 1,000 posts dating back to December 2022. The investigation revealed that several links posted by Stendebach led to videos containing child sexual abuse material involving young children.
In August 2024, HSI agents executed a search warrant at Stendebach’s residence in Hannibal, Missouri. During an interview after the search, Stendebach admitted to using the profile associated with the dark web activity.
HSI conducted the investigation into this case.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported receiving approximately 36 million reports related to child sexual abuse materials in 2023. Individuals can file reports with NCMEC through their online portal at https://report.cybertip.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
This prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local agencies. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.
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