A Missouri man has been sentenced to a term of 75 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to possessing child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Stephen E.R. Marez, 32, of St. Francois County, will also be required to pay $9,000 in restitution as part of the judgment handed down by District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig.
Marez's plea, which he entered in August, stemmed from his arrest after law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on July 14, 2023. During the stop, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper seized a cell phone belonging to Marez which was found to contain child sexual abuse material. A subsequent search of his home led to the discovery of more than 2,000 files of child pornography, including images and videos of minors that have been identified by authorities.
The investigation into Marez revealed that he was also actively engaged in online discussions about the rape of children. His conversations with two other individuals was what originally brought him to the attention of Indiana State Police, who were investigating one of the men Marez communicated with about these heinous topics.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 with the aim to aggressively to pursue child sexual exploitation and abuse. Several agencies collaborated on this case, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team, the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office, and local police departments, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuting.
