Belleville man caught in pornography sting, sentenced to federal prison for sex crimes

A Belleville man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison on child sex-related crimes after he was nabbed in a federal pornography sting.

Kenneth Rodgers, 24, pleaded guilty in the United States District Court in St. Louis in November to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, according to court documents.

Rodgers also is facing charges of production of child pornography in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Illinois.

Rodgers was caught in a sex sting in March of 2020 after traveling from Illinois to Brentwood, Missouri thinking he would be meeting up with a 14-year-old boy for sex.

But Rodgers had mistakenly contacted the boy’s older, adult brother on the dating app, Grindr. The older brother is a sergeant with the St. Louis County Police Department investigating online child sexual exploitation, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Missouri.

Rodgers continued conversations with whom he believed to be the 14-year-old into June. Using a variety of apps, he unknowingly sent images of child pornography to the officer.

Investigators found 199 photos and 88 videos containing child pornography on Rodgers’ phone.

This case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.

This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 3:32 PM.