ST. LOUIS – A former deputy with the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department appeared in federal court on Monday and was sentenced for soliciting and/or receiving sex acts and child pornography from two underage children and destroying evidence.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Justin B. Durham, 43, of Rolla, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of production of child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, and three counts of destroying records in a federal investigation.

Durham admitted engaging in the sex acts with the victims while employed at the sheriff’s department. He said he asked for and received a sexually explicit video from a 15-year-old in 2013 and provided $200 to the victim after she engaged in sex acts with him.

As part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors, Durham also admitted engaging in sexual activities with the 17-year-old victim—in his patrol vehicle—and exchanging sexually explicit images and video with the victim. Durham met the second victim after her friend contacted police and he responded to the call.

The FBI interviewed Durham in 2023 after discovering his PayPal account was used to send money to another account connected with the sale of child pornography. Durham denied purchasing child pornography and said he had not accessed his Dropbox accounts for years.

Durham refused a request to allow FBI agents to search of his cell phone, then destroyed his phone two days later and purchased a new one. Authorities said Durham deleted about 37 gigabytes of data in his Dropbox accounts before deactivating his account.

Among those deleted files were hundreds of sexually explicit images and videos including child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The Phelps County Sheriff’s Department fired Durham on Aug. 9, 2023, and arrested him. Once in jail, Durham told FBI agents he destroyed his laptop computer, threw away his cell phone, and conducted a “digital footprint scrub” of his online accounts, according to the plea agreement. He also admitted to the court that he sent sexual letters to his fellow inmates at Phelps County Jail and solicited sexually explicit images from women, including one who was on parole.

A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Durham to 65 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay $79,160 in restitution to his victims.