A 19-year-old Wildwood man is being held on a $750,000 cash-only bond after St. Louis County detectives say he posed as a young boy on Snapchat to solicit sexually explicit videos from at least two child victims, while also facing a separate charge of sex with an animal. William Busch faces counts including attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, age misrepresentation with intent to solicit a minor for sexual misconduct, possession of child pornography, and sex with an animal.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Busch lives in Wildwood, an outer-suburban city in far western St. Louis County, and court documents identify at least two child victims in the case. Police say Busch messaged a person under 17 through Snapchat in July 2025 and received multiple videos of the victim engaged in sexual activity, as reported by KMOV.
A Second Victim and an Alleged Pattern of Deception
Detectives said that in October 2025, Busch posed as a 13-year-old boy while communicating with a victim under 14, and allegedly convinced that child to create and send sexual videos. Police also said Busch had several videos of himself engaging in sexual relations with a dog, according to the outlet's report.
Investigators believe there could be additional victims beyond the two already identified in charging documents, the station's report notes. Anyone with information is asked to contact the St. Louis County Police Department's Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives at 314-615-5400.
Statutory Penalties Carry Mandatory Prison Time
Under Missouri Revised Statute Section 566.151, enticement or grooming of a child carries a mandatory prison sentence ranging from five to 30 years, with a minimum five-year period of parole ineligibility, according to WomensLaw.org. Separately, Missouri Revised Statute Section 566.153 criminalizes age misrepresentation with intent to solicit a minor, creating specific felony penalties under Chapter 566 for individuals who falsify their age during electronic communications to solicit minors, per Missouri's state revisor website.
The bestiality charge against Busch falls under Revised Statutes of Missouri Section 566.111, which classifies sexual contact with an animal as a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense, but the charge can upgrade to a Class E felony if the defendant has a prior conviction or if aggravating circumstances occur, according to Combs Waterkotte. Missouri statutes also allow courts to mandate animal ownership bans and require psychological evaluation as terms of probation.
Missouri Law Does Not Require Physical Contact to Prosecute
Missouri court precedents interpreting RSMo Section 566.083 hold that physical presence is not required to prosecute sexual misconduct involving a child, since coercing a minor online or transmitting explicit media digitally meets the statutory criteria, per the state revisor's office. Missouri appellate courts have also ruled, in State v. Bouse, that sending or requesting explicit media digitally qualifies as unlawful exposure under state law.
That legal framework has been tested before. In the 2009 case State v. Pribble, the Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed that undercover police operations targeting online child enticement do not violate constitutional protections against vague or overbroad statutes, according to FindLaw, upholding a six-year prison sentence for a suspect caught in a similar sting.
Part of a Sharp National Rise in Online Enticement Cases
The Busch case surfaces amid a dramatic nationwide surge in digital child exploitation reports. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported that nationwide CyberTipline reports of online enticement rose from 292,951 in the first half of 2024 to 518,720 in the first half of 2025, according to NCMEC data. The organization also received more than 50,000 reports of online sextortion targeting children across the United States in 2025 — averaging 137 reports daily, up from 36,000 reports in 2024 — with Snapchat and Instagram highlighted as primary platforms.
This isn't the only recent St. Louis-area case involving alleged child sexual abuse and a call for more potential victims to come forward. Just a day earlier, Hoodline reported on a separate case in which St. Louis County police sought additional tips involving a 43-year-old local resident charged in a 2024 sex assault.
Busch remains jailed on the $750,000 cash-only bond, with no option for a 10% bond. The charges against him remain allegations at this stage, and no trial date has been reported.
