ST. LOUIS – A Lincoln County, Missouri, man appeared in federal court on Thursday to be sentenced for trying to secretly film underage girls and sell the videos online.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said James D. Kukan, 39, pleaded guilty in August 2023 to two counts of attempted production of child pornography.
Kukan told the court he placed a hidden camera in a bathroom to make “spy videos” featuring two teen girls between October 2021 and February 2022. He admitted trying to sell the videos on Kick, Snapchat, Telegram, and WhatsApp.
On Feb. 14, 2022, Kukan went into a Kik group and struck up a conversation with an undercover FBI agent. Kukan offered to sell the videos of the girls to the agent for $60 to $100.
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Kukan to 17 ½ years in federal prison.
