KC Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Child Pornography | USAO-WDMO

KANSAS CITY, MO. – A man from Kansas City, Missouri, was convicted in federal court of child pornography today after indicting sexual acts on young victims while being streamed live over the internet.

Robert P. Salapuddin, 39, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison without parole by US District Judge Greg Kays. The court also ordered Salapuddin to spend the rest of his life on a supervised release after he was detained.

On September 10, 2020, Salapuddin pleaded guilty to once having received child pornography over the Internet and once to owning child pornography. Salapuddin admitted receiving a pornographic video of a child victim on January 3, 2016. He also admitted that on January 11, 2017, he had images of child pornography on both his laptop and desktop computer.

The investigation began when law enforcement received an anonymous tip that Salapuddin was soliciting young girls to engage in sexual acts for him via a live streaming app. When officials contacted Salapuddin at his home on January 11, 2017, they found that he had received and owned a collection of child pornography. He admitted using various internet apps to obtain and own videos and pictures of teenage girls aged 13 who are sexually explicit.

Investigators found more than 35 videos of child pornography on Salapuddin’s computers, many of which appeared to be recordings from webcams or chat programs. They also discovered more than 250 images (some duplicates) of possible child pornography. Investigators found thousands of messages on Salapuddin’s iPhones, including message strings mentioning that the user was under the age of 18. More than 1,000 photos of teenagers and cell phone screenshots were organized in folders with girls’ names and / or the term “nudes.” “The photos often showed the subject in a series of photos, both clothed, then naked.

For example, on January 11, 2017, investigators discovered a video of a live stream chat between an underage woman bathing and someone who sounded like Salapuddin. They discussed makeup and the girl who was only 16 years old. When the girl gets out of the tub, the male voice can be heard off-screen: “Now Rob can get dressed.”

This case was being prosecuted by US Assistant Attorney David A. Barnes. It has been investigated by the FBI and Kansas City, Missouri Police.

Safe Childhood Project

This case was filed under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Justice Department in May 2006 to tackle the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Under the direction of U.S. Attorneys and the Department of Child Exploitation and Obscenity of the Criminal Investigation Department, Project Safe Childhood provides state, state, and local resources to find, arrest, and prosecute those who sexually exploit, identify, and prosecute children to rescue. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information on Internet Security Training, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click the Resources tab.