A man from Warren County has pleaded guilty to federal charges relating to sharing child sexual abuse material online.
Donald Carl Held, 50, pleaded guilty July 24 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. He admitted sharing photos with an undercover investigator with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that he claimed depicted a 15-year-old girl. He also claimed he was engaged in sexual activity with the teen, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
A joint HSI - St. Charles County Police Department investigation resulted in a court-approved search of Held’s home on March 4, 2024, that recovered electronic devices containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Held told investigators that he shared CSAM almost every day with others online via a messaging app, Teleguard, and that he lied about the teen, according to the release.
Held’s cellphone contained 1,077 images and videos with CSAM. His Teleguard and Telegram accounts contained “extensive” communications between Held and others during which they shared and promoted CSAM, the release said. Held also advised others on how to avoid law enforcement detection.
Held is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 27. Each charge carries a potential prison sentence of up 20 years.
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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
