JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.– In an effort to enforce the laws as written and protect Missourians, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced today that his office successfully defended the conviction of Stephen C. Ingram for the possession of more than 20 still images of child-pornography at the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. The appeals court upheld Ingram’s original sentence of nine years imprisonment.
The Court of Appeals, in addressing issues of first impression by Missouri courts, agreed with the Attorney General’s Office that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction when 10 child-pornography images were found on Ingram’s Yahoo Flickr account and an additional 39 such images were found in cache files on Ingram’s computer. The cache files depicted child-pornography images previously located on Ingram’s computer but had been deleted before the computer was searched.
The Court of Appeals also agreed with the State’s argument that Ingram’s Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful governmental searches was not violated when Yahoo searched Ingram’s Yahoo Flickr account and seized information concerning child-pornography images.
“As Attorney General, I will enforce the laws as written, which includes defending the convictions of heinous criminals,” said Attorney General Bailey. “As a former prosecutor and an adoptive parent, I am personally familiar with the need to protect children. My office will continue to do everything in its power to keep Missouri’s most vulnerable safe from harm.”
Bailey, 41, a US Army veteran, former Warren county prosecutor, former General Counsel for the Missouri Department of Corrections, and former General Counsel to Governor Parson, was sworn into office earlier this year to fill the incomplete termed served by U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt.
For more information about Attorney General Bailey you can visit the Missouri Attorney General website, here.
Brady Hays is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in History. He is currently attending the University of Missouri School of Law and is on pace to graduate with his JD in 2026. He has been working for the Missouri Times since early March 0f 2022.