Missouri Man Receives Life Sentence for Operating Four Separate Dark Web Exploitation Websites
2 min read
Judge Strikes Gavel in Courtroom
In a significant legal development, Clint Robert Schram, 55, from Kansas City, Missouri, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for running four dark websites dedicated to the distribution and exchange of child sexual abuse images and videos. Schram’s conviction and sentencing underscore the severity of his crimes and the justice system’s commitment to combating child exploitation.
Court documents and trial evidence revealed that Schram operated these websites from his home. These platforms were used for advertising, sharing, and exchanging materials depicting the sexual abuse of children, with one site allowing posts of images of children as young as two years old.
On May 10, a federal jury found Schram guilty of multiple charges: one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, four counts of advertisement of child pornography, and four counts of conspiracy to advertise child pornography.
The announcement of Schram’s sentencing was made by officials from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the Western District of Missouri U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit and Kansas City Field Office, with assistance from several FBI field offices and Homeland Security Investigations’ offices.
Schram’s case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Justice Department in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. This initiative unites various federal, state, and local resources to effectively locate, apprehend, and prosecute internet-based child exploitation offenders, as well as to aid in the identification and rescue of victims.
This case highlights the ongoing efforts by law enforcement and the justice system to address and punish the severe crimes of child exploitation and the distribution of child pornography.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
