A 31-year old man from Binghamton, N.Y., pleaded guilty this week to two counts of attempting to produce child pornography. Some of the victims are from the Sedalia area.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office says that 31-year old Brandon David Cuddihe posed online as a teenage girl and attempted to produce child pornography by tricking children – including three victims in Sedalia, MO – into sending him nude images of themselves.

By pleading guilty, Cuddihe admitted that he posed on Facebook as a 14-year-old girl named “Hannah Richards.” Using the false identity, he conversed with more than 150 people, many of whom were between 11 and 15 years of age.

Three minors, including two 10-year-olds and a teenager, are from the Sedalia area. According to the press release, the mother of one of those victims contacted the Sedalia Police Department when she learned that her 10-year-old daughter had sent nude photos and videos via Facebook Messenger.

Using the “Hannah Richards” Facebook account, Cuddihe told investigators, he would pick a random individual to befriend. Cuddihe would reportedly go through all of their friends and then add a bunch of their friends to his friends list. If an individual accepted his friend request, he would begin chatting with them through Facebook Messenger.

Under federal statutes, Cuddihe is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole. He could also face the maximum sentence of 30 years. It was noted that a sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney, Ashley S. Turner.

It was investigated by the Sedalia Police Department, the FBI, the Binghamton, N.Y., Police Department, and the Broome County, N.Y., Sheriff’s Department.

Randy Kirby
Randy Kirby
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