Kansas sex offender bribed 8-year-old online gamer to make child porn, officials say
A Ellis man will spend 40 years in federal prison for convincing an 8-year-old Michigan child he met through an online game to film and photograph themself engaging in sexual acts, according to court records and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas.
Prosecutors say 49-year-old Clinton Wade McElroy persuaded the child to send the pornographic footage to him through online gaming and messaging applications in May and June of 2020. McElroy convinced the child to do his bidding by bribing them with gaming credits, according to his plea agreement.
The child’s mother discovered the exchanges in June 2020, which led law enforcement “to find voicemails of the defendant, phone information, and IP address information” that identified McElroy “as the perpetrator of the criminal conduct involving the minor,” his plea agreement says.
Law enforcement found evidence of the illegal activity on McElroy’s electronic devices. He later admitted to coercing the child and gave authorities access to online storage where he kept the pornographic images, his plea agreement says.
McElroy pleaded guilty in May to one count of production of child pornography after a prior conviction. He was required to register as a sex offender after a 2018 conviction in Ellis County.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a charge accusing McElroy of committing certain crimes while he was required to register as a sex offender, court records show.
U.S. District Judge John Broomes sentenced McElroy to 480 months in federal prison on Wednesday. In addition to serving the sentence, he must also forfeit his Apple iPhone 8, an iPad Pro and his gaming laptop, court records show.
