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Michael Stevens, 43, of Oran in Scott County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in May to coercion and enticement of a minor.
Stevens admitted luring teenage boys to accompany him to concerts in the St. Louis area. Stevens used a hidden camera to secretly record video of two boys in the bathroom of the hotel rooms where they stayed, his plea agreement says.
Stevens began taking one of the boys hunting and fishing starting when the boy was 13.
In April of 2020, the boy’s parents contacted the Scott County Sheriff’s Office after their son said Stevens had grabbed his buttocks in a hotel after a 2019 concert in St. Louis and asked for pictures of his genitals. The parents asked the boy about Stevens after Stevens complained that the boy would no longer go hunting and fishing, and the boy then disclosed Stevens’ crimes.
On May 5, 2020, Stevens told law enforcement that he took multiple teenage boys under his wing and mentored them. He also admitted engaging in sexual talk with some of these boys, and identified another victim.
Stevens also took that boy hunting and fishing and to a concert in the St. Louis area. At a hotel, Stevens hid a camera to record the boy changing, his plea agreement says. Stevens also asked that victim for nude pictures.
After his release from prison, Stevens will be on supervised release for life and will have to register as a sex offender. He was ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution and also agreed to forfeit a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of the truck will go to the restitution.
The Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri’s State Technical Assistance Team investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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