Missouri countryman convicted in child pornography case

ST. LOUIS – A man from Audrain County, Missouri, faces up to 15 years in federal prison after being convicted on multiple child pornography charges.

Prosecutors with the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said William Dahl, 39, photographed himself having sex with a 14-year-old girl and later emailed those pictures to others. He also received a video of a 16-year-old girl and a pornographic image of a 7-year-old.

Dahl was found guilty of one count of producing child pornography and two counts of receiving child pornography. He will be sentenced in December.

Prosecutors said Dahl met the first victim when she was 13 and he was almost 23. Dahl took photos of the girl in a Moberly cemetery in 2007 and later sent her pictures of his genitals.

Dahl met the second victim when she was 16 and he was 36. He bought the teenager a cell phone, alcohol and e-cigarettes; They exchanged nude photos.

A co-defendant, Jennifer Huddleston, 35, pleaded guilty in May to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Huddleston admitted to taking photos of herself sexually assaulting the seven-year-old victim while she slept, and then sending the photos to Dahl.

Huddleston, who has had an unbroken relationship with Dahl since 2008, also admitted to downloading child sexual abuse material from the internet. She will be sentenced on October 3.