A man from Brookfield, in Linn County, Missouri, has been accused in an indictment in U.S. District Court in St. Louis of recording himself having sexual contact with a minor.
Russell Alan Pirkey, 52, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of sexual exploitation of a child and a charge of accessing with intent to view child pornography.
The indictment accuses Pirkey of coercing a minor into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of video recording it between April 1 and April 8, 2023. It also says Pirkey accessed child pornography between Jan. 1, 2023, and April 8, 2023.
A motion seeking to have Pirkey held in jail until trial says he used his cell phone to record himself having sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl. Pirkey was being held in jail on pending charges in Linn County Circuit Court.
The sexual exploitation of children charge carries a potential penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The access with intent to view charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and the same fine.
The FBI, the Brookfield Police Department, and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman is prosecuting the case.
