PHELPS COUNTY, Mo. — A former sheriff's deputy in Phelps County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to multiple charges in connection with child sex allegations.
Justin Durham, 43, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of production of child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography and three counts of destroying records in a federal investigation.
According to a press release from U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming, Durham admitted to requesting and receiving a sexually explicit video from a 16-year-old in 2013 and later paid her to engage in sex acts with him. The press release said he also admitted to engaging in sex acts with a 17-year-old, including in his patrol vehicle.
The press release said Durham met the second victim after responding to a police call for service in 2016.
The FBI started investigating Durham in 2023 after learning his PayPal account was used to send money to an account associated with the sale of child sexual abuse material. In an interview with FBI agents, Durham denied buying child sexual abuse material, but two days after the interview, he bought a new phone, destroyed his old phone and deleted about 37 gigabytes of data from his Dropbox account.
He was fired by the Phelps County Sheriff's Department and later arrested by the same department. While in jail, he admitted to also destroying a laptop and conducting a "digital footprint scrub," according to the plea agreement.
Durham will be sentenced on Feb. 5. The production of child pornography charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years, and the receipts of child pornography charge has a five-year minimum sentence.
To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt, or production of child sexual abuse material, click here or call 1-800-843-5678.
