ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis County man appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday and admitted being caught sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) with an undercover police officer.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said James C. Asotrian, 40, shared several images and videos containing illicit material with a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer in January 2020 through a peer-to-peer network.
St. Louis County police obtained a court-approved warrant to search Astorian’s home. They seized electronic devices containing 6,110 images and 728 videos containing CSAM.
According to court documents, Astorian told investigators that he’d been searching for and downloading child pornography for approximately two years.
Astorian faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he’s sentenced on Aug. 13.