Stoddard County sex offender charged with child porn possession

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- As he sat in prison for violating his parole on child molestation charges, a Dexter, Mo., man was charged Monday with possessing child pornography, the Daily American Republic newspaper reported.

Jody E. Kirk, 44, of the 300 block of North Poplar Street, was charged with the Class B felony of possession of child pornography by Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Briney Welborn.

After considering the complaint and probable cause affidavit filed with the court, Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield issued a warrant for Kirk's arrest and set his bond at $25,000 cash only.

The complaint alleges on March 13 Kirk, "knowing of its content and character, possessed child pornography material consisting of more than 25 still photographs of children under the age of 18 years."

Welborn charged Kirk as a prior and persistent offender in that on Oct. 19, 2000, Kirk pleaded guilty to two felonies of first-degree child molestation in Madison County.

Kirk was sentenced to six years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on each count and the sentences were ordered to run consecutively, according to a Probation and Parole official.

Kirk, who was released on parole in February 2007, is "back in prison," and his maximum release date is Aug. 10, 2011, the official said.

The Stoddard County charge stems from an investigation by the Dexter Police Department, which was initiated after it received an anonymous letter regarding Kirk, a registered sex offender, on March 12.

"The letter stated Jody has a Facebook account under his name," Detective Trevor Pulley said in his probable cause affidavit. "The profile picture shows him holding an infant.

"Upon viewing Facebook, Jody did have a Facebook account."

On March 13, Pulley said, Kirk was arrested on a warrant for parole violation. Consent, he said, was obtained from Kirk to search his computers.

Pulley said he completed the analysis of the two computers seized from Kirk's residence on May 3.

The desktop computer, according to Pulley, contained a "large amount of adult photography, which consisted of full, sexual contact between the participants. There were a large number of images consisting of child erotica.

"Child erotica images were any non-nude or seminude photographs and videos of teens or preteens, usually girls, in sexual suggestive poses (child model photographs). There were photographs of completely nude prepubescent children posing and doing activities."

The photographs, Pulley said, are commonly referred to as "nudist photographs."

Pulley said there were about 75 images of what he referred to as child pornography on the computer.

"The images and file names associated with children engaging in a sexual explicit manner were located on the computer," Pulley explained. "The images consisted of female and male children engaging in explicit sexual contact.

"Some of the images had infant children engaging in sexual explicit manner."

On Wednesday, Pulley said, he interviewed Kirk at the Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center at Bonne Terre.

"Jody admitted he was the individual who was viewing the child pornography; (he) also admitted he was viewing the child models via the Internet," Pulley said. " ... Jody advised he only viewed the child images and child pornography for a short period of time (approximately one month)."