SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A former southwestern Missouri teacher pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to receiving and distributing child pornography over the internet.
This guilty plea resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Lebanon (Missouri) Police Department.
Brandon Hileman, 25, of Lebanon, Missouri, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to the charge contained in an Oct. 18, 2017, federal indictment.
Hileman, formerly a math teacher at Joel E. Barber Junior High School in Lebanon, admitted that he received and distributed child pornography over the internet between Jan. 1 and Sept. 29, 2017.
This investigation began when a Lebanon police detective was notified that Hileman had uploaded two videos of child pornography to his Google Drive account. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hileman’s residence on Sept. 29, 2017; they seized computers, an iPad, cellphones and digital storage devices. Investigators examined the devices and found images and videos of child pornography.
Under federal statutes, Hileman is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the U.S. Probation Office completes a presentence investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher, Western District of Missouri.
