A former paraprofessional at Blue Springs High School was sentenced in federal court for producing and distributing child pornography.
Steven B. Allen, 46, of Independence, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 22 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Allen to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration. The court ordered Allen to pay $5,000 to each of the 11 victims who have petitioned for restitution from every person who received or possessed pictures of their sexual abuse, or $3,000 if he can pay restitution within 30 days of his sentencing.
Allen, who has been in federal custody since his arrest on Nov. 25, 2019, was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal immediately following today’s hearing.
On May 4, 2021, Allen pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography over the internet. At the time of the offenses, Allen worked as a paraprofessional teacher at Blue Springs High School.
Allen admitted that he used two minor victims to produce child pornography and distributed those images, and others, to individuals over the internet. Allen also admitted he had been sharing images of child pornography over the internet every couple of days for the past five to six years.
Allen began communicating over the internet with an undercover officer in the United Kingdom in June 2019. The undercover officer purported to be the father of a 10-year-old girl. Allen sent the undercover officer numerous images of one of the minor victims. He also discussed participating in and fantasizing about sexually abusing the undercover officer’s daughter.
On Oct. 7, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Allen’s residence and seized numerous electronic devices that contained more than 9,200 images and 89 videos of child pornography, including more than 800 images of infants and toddlers being sexually assaulted, 65 images of violent sexual acts, and two images of bestiality.
Allen also produced a number of images and videos of prepubescent girls using a waterproof camera at a community swimming pool.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.
