ST. LOUIS, MO – A 41-year-old man convicted of producing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) was handed down a 50 year sentence in federal prison earlier in May following a multiagency investigation aided in part by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Officials say there were at least three victims involved, with one of the victims being as young as 8 years old at the time of the offense.
A press release from the Justice Department detailed the sentencing of 41-year-old Richard James Miller who was handed down a sentence of half a century by U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp on May 4th after pleading guilty this past February to two counts of production of CSAM.
Authorities first learned of Miller’s endeavors back in 2024 during an executed search warrant of a New Jersey man’s home where authorities discovered messages shared between the subject of the warrant and Miller via the messaging platform Kik. Among the messages discovered during the aforementioned executed search warrant included apparent CSAM sent by Miller, leading investigators to speak with him where he reportedly admitted to producing the illicit content.
The recorded sexual abuse of at least two underage victims occurred between January of 2022 and May of 2024, according to authorities, with the victims being aged 15 and between 8 and 9 years old at the time of the offenses.
In statements from two of the victims read before the court during sentencing, the two claimed Miller had threatened to murder their families, with one victim also asserting that Miller had threatened to force her to watch him murder her two dogs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman noted during court proceedings that a third victim also suffered abuse at the hands of Miller, but said victim did not furnish any official statements to the court.
Judge Schelp told Miller during his sentencing, “You’re not going to get out again. You’re not going to get an opportunity to victimize someone else.”
HSI St. Louis Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gregory Paris issued a statement following the rendered sentence, saying, “Richard James Miller committed horrific crimes that inflicted unconscionable trauma on children. I am extremely proud of our agents’ diligent work in putting him behind bars so he can’t abuse another child.” HSI was also assisted by the Park Hills Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol throughout the investigation, according to officials.
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