Grain Valley Man Sentenced for Child Porn, Exploitation

A 63-year old man from Grain Valley, MO was recently sentenced in federal court for traveling to North Dakota for illicit sex with a 14-year-old child, who was actually an undercover law enforcement officer, while he was under investigation for distributing child pornography over the internet.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 63-year old Andy Earl Crook was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Crook to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration.

On April 25, 2019, Crook reportedly pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography, possessing child pornography, and traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Authorities say the investigation began when FBI agents in Washington state executed a search warrant at a residence on Feb. 21, 2018. A review of the suspect’s electronic devices indicated that he had exchanged images and videos of child pornography with others via the internet, including Crook.

On April 5, 2018, Google, Inc. submitted two separate incident reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline reporting that Crook had uploaded and stored possible child pornography images in Google Photos online. An FBI agent, acting in an undercover capacity, communicated with Crook via Kik Messenger. Crook sent images and a video of child pornography to the undercover agent.

Then on May 4, 2018, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Crook’s residence and seized electronic devices. On Crook’s cell phone, investigators reportedly found numerous sexually explicit photos of Crook, along with 190 images and 13 videos of child pornography (including infants and toddlers), and chat conversations involving child exploitation.

Following the search and seizure, and his interview with an FBI agent, Crook contacted an undercover law enforcement officer in North Dakota, who was posing as a 14-year-old girl, on September 1, 2018. He communication with the undercover officer, via Facebook and Kik Messenger, became increasingly sexually graphic.

Crook allegedly made plans to travel to North Dakota to meet the person whom he believed was a 14-year-old girl, so they could engage in illegal sexual conduct. Crook rented a vehicle and drove to North Dakota for a planned meeting on September 22, 2018. Upon arriving for the meeting, he was arrested.

Officers reportedly found multiple sex toys and wine coolers in his vehicle.