LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. – A Lincoln County man kept handwritten notes detailing sexual thoughts and analysis on prepubescent children, as well as DVDs and an external hard drive containing child sexual abuse material, according to local law enforcement and prosecutors.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children filed a report on March 9 after being alerted to suspected child pornography attached to a Verizon customer’s cloud account. On March 27, a Lincoln County detective, working as a member of the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force, was assigned to investigate that NCMEC report.
Investigators reviewed the data sent to them and determined the files within contained child pornography.
On April 24, investigators received a 32GB file from the suspect’s phone number, which contained two images of an unidentified adult having illicit sexual contact with a minor. That afternoon, members of the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force arrested Jeremy J.W. Crouch at his employer, NAPA Auto Parts in Troy. Investigators also executed a search warrant at Crouch’s home, located between Troy and Hawk Point.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office’s probable cause statement, investigators found a locked file cabinet in Crouch’s bedroom containing, among other things, several DVDs, an external hard drive, and handwritten notes on NAPA Auto Parts letterhead. The notes mentioned four prepubescent victims. The DVDs are of motion pictures with children in sexual scenarios. The external hard drive contained multiple hidden camera images of nude children that appeared to be downloaded from a website.
When speaking with detectives, Crouch confirmed his email address and phone number tied to the accounts containing child porn but denied knowledge of the illicit material or the handwritten notes.
Authorities identified the victims in the images and determined Crouch used to babysit them. The sheriff’s office believes there could be additional victims. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 636-949-3000 (x4554).
Meanwhile, the Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Crouch with 11 counts of possession of child pornography – second or subsequent offense and two counts of possession of child pornography – first offense. Crouch remains in custody on a $750,000 cash-only bond. Online records did not show Crouch’s next scheduled court appearance.