A former bartender from St. Charles County, Missouri, has pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material and installing hidden cameras in a previous residence. Anthony Thomas, 49, admitted in court to one count of receipt of child pornography.
According to prosecutors, Thomas possessed thousands of media files containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that he had downloaded. He also had thousands more files with pornography where the age of those depicted was difficult to determine.
Thomas further admitted to installing hidden cameras disguised as a smoke detector in a bedroom and as an outlet extension plug in a bathroom at his former residence. Both devices captured images of a 14-year-old girl.
The investigation began in December 2024 when Homeland Security Investigations agents discovered that someone in St. Charles County was sharing CSAM through the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network. Authorities executed a court-approved search warrant at Thomas’ home and seized multiple electronic devices containing CSAM.
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the St. Charles County Regional SWAT Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is prosecuting the case.
"This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice," according to information provided by authorities. "Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims." More details about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
