ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man appeared in federal court on Wednesday and admitted producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) involving at least eight victims.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Tracy Jenkins, 59, made videos of sexual abuse of minors and circulated that material online.
Jenkins admitted making videos as early as 2013. He admitted sexually abusing five children and recording the abuse. According to Jenkins’ plea agreement, at least three other victims have since been identified.
One of the victims was 6 years old when the abuse began, and another was 11. Prosecutors said Jenkins provided food, money, clothing, and other items to some of his victims.
The FBI previously stated that investigators first became aware of the videos in 2017 and had been working to identify the victims ever since. Other videos had been circulating online since at least 2022.
The FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit successfully identified one of the victims and notified the St. Louis FBI office.
On Feb. 23, 2023, FBI agents received information about the identity and location of one of the victims. An interview with that individual led authorities to four other victims, all of whom identified Jenkins as the man who abused them over the years and recorded those encounters.
The following day, federal agents went to Jenkins’ home with a search warrant. They found a hard drive containing more than 200 videos that not only matched the videos found online but had other incidents with victims who had not yet been identified. Jenkins was taken into custody that day.
FBI agents also discovered a Sarsilmaz 9mm pistol in Jenkins’ home. The gun had been reported stolen in St. Louis County.
According to court documents, Jenkins has a prior conviction for misdemeanor sexual misconduct in a 1997 case in St. Louis City. As such, he’s barred from possessing a firearm.
Jenkins pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Jenkins will be sentenced in December. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will ask the judge for a sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
