A Missouri man has been handed a substantial prison term for crimes related to child pornography. Patrick Neistat, 24, of Florissant, will serve 170 months—a sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey after Neistat's guilty plea to one count of receipt of child pornography in October, as reported by United States Attorney's Office.
Details of the case unravel an unsettling volume of illicit material found in Neistat's possession. On one cellphone, law enforcement discovered 123 images and 4 videos of child abuse, with additional content that included 187 images and 18 videos of problematic content featuring individuals whose ages are difficult to ascertain. Disturbingly, this phone also contained 634 CGI/animated images of children depicted in sexual acts. A second device revealed a further descent into criminal activity, with additional images containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and explicit communications with underage girls. Neistat has even recorded himself inappropriately touching a 5-year-old child.
The inquiry into Neistat's activities began with a tip-off from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to detectives from the St. Louis County Police Department. The tip indicated that sexually abusive images of a minor were being uploaded to a social media account on Skout—ultimately traced back to Neistat. Despite initially denying ownership of a cellphone, detectives did ultimately locate and seize a phone from Neistat, revealing the breadth of his illicit activities.
Initiatives like Project Safe Childhood, under which this investigation falls, aim to seriously confront the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project is a nationwide initiative which began in 2006 and is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The case against Neistat was investigated by the FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes, showcasing the collaborative effort to prevent, identify, and punish the exploitation of children through the internet and other digital mediums.
For those seeking more information on the efforts and resources employed to combat such exploitation, the Department of Justice hosts a dedicated section on their website for Project Safe Childhood that offers insights into the breadth of their operations.
