ST. LOUIS – A St. Francois County man appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday and was sentenced on federal charges in a child pornography investigation.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Stephen E.R. Marez, 32, admitted possessing child porn and to participating in online discussions of child rape.
In June 2023, the Indiana State Police contacted the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control and Digital Forensics Investigations units regarding its own investigation into Marez. Indiana authorities said Marez was involved in online chats with two other people about raping children. The trio was also sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The following month, Missouri state troopers pulled Marez over for a traffic violation. During the stop, troopers questioned Marez and seized his cell phone. He was taken into custody at the time on an unrelated matter. Investigators found CSAM on the cell phone.
Days later, Missouri authorities searched Marez’s home and recovered electronic devices with more than 2,000 files containing child porn store on them.
In August 2024, Marez pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.
Marez was sentenced on Wednesday to 75 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution to his victims.
Marez is still slated to go to trial in St. Francois County Circuit Court in December in this investigation.