U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Wednesday sentenced a man who recorded his sexual abuse of a toddler to 30 years in prison.
Judge White also ordered Kyle J. Gipson, 23, of Jefferson County, to pay a $5,000 assessment that will go into a fund for victims and prevention programs.
Gipson was the monitor and gatekeeper for a social media group focused on child sexual abuse material, bestiality, and rape, according to his guilty plea. He possessed child sexual abuse material involving the 2-year-old victim and others. He also discussed his sexual abuse of the victim with others on social media.
In March of 2023, an undercover FBI agent in an online group dedicated to discussing and trading original images of child sexual abuse learned of Gipson. The agent and Gipson began communicating on the social media platform Wickr and later moved to Telegram. Gipson sent the agent a picture of the victim and said he had sexually abused her, his plea agreement says. He also sent a nude picture of her and offered to provide access so the girl could be sexually abused, his plea says.
Gipson was arrested after a court-approved search of his home on March 13.
Gipson pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in November to one felony count of production of child pornography.
The FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department Special Investigations Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
