One Missouri man sentenced for child pornography; another pleads guilty to charges

A Missouri man has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for receiving child pornography and producing obscene AI-generated images of children, while another Missouri man has pleaded guilty to several child pornography offenses.

Jeremy Koppenhaver sentenced for AI-generated child porn

Jeremy Koppenhaver, 46, of Springfield, Missouri, was caught attempting to create AI-generated child pornography at a coffee shop in downtown Springfield in June 2024, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.

Investigators examined Koppenhaver’s laptop and discovered about 19 images of child pornography, all depicting real children, along with more than 60 obscene AI-generated images of children.

Koppenhaver used AI to create images depicting female celebrities as children being sexually abused. He also used photo-editing software to transform nude images of himself into images depicting nude girls.

Following a two-day jury trial in June, Koppenhaver was found guilty of one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of production of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children. He was sentenced Wednesday to more than 12.5 years in prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release.

Carter Anderson pleads guilty to child porn

Another Missouri man, Carter Anderson, 32, of Belton, Missouri, pleaded guilty to several child pornography offenses Wednesday.

Between October 2021 and January 2025, Anderson procured sexually explicit photos and videos from three minor victims. He met one of the victims through Snapchat, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. After the child sent him explicit images and videos, Anderson admitted that he threatened to release the material publicly unless the child sent him more.

The images and videos Anderson demanded became progressively more graphic, the release states.

Anderson pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, transportation of child pornography, possession of child pornography and cyberstalking of a minor. He faces a prison sentence of 15 to 70 years without parole.

The fight for child safety continues

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has initiated investigations and child safety measures this month aimed at combating platforms where predators can target children.

Hanaway launched an investigation into TikTok to examine how the platform engages users, particularly children, and how it selects content based on users’ age groups. TikTok must produce the documents requested by Hanaway for the investigation by Nov. 13.

“Parents deserve the truth about how TikTok interacts with their children, how the platform identifies underage users and what content it pushes into their feeds,” Hanaway wrote in a release.

The attorney general has also demanded that Xbox Live establish stronger protections for children, citing records showing that predators use the platform to entice, target and groom children and trade child pornography.

The letter to Microsoft about Xbox Live cites two recent cases involving Missouri children and the platform. In one case, a man targeted a child and later showed up uninvited at the child’s home. In the other, a man exchanged sexually explicit messages and materials with a child.

Xbox Live has until the end of the month to implement child-protection features.