Former St. Charles County coach arrested on federal child sexual abuse charges following HSI investigation

ST. LOUIS — On July 6, authorities arrested a former youth hockey coach on federal charges that include accusations that he produced child sexual abuse material involving two children and possessed child sexual abuse material of other currently unidentified children. The arrest follows a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation with assistance from local law enforcement officials.

James R. Lambert , 41, of Lake St. Louis, was indicted June 28 on two counts of production of child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography and one count of transporting minors across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis.

The indictment accuses Lambert of inducing two minors into engaging in sexually explicit conduct and then filming it. It also says Lambert took a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity and that he received child sexual abuse material online.

Lambert is also facing charges in St. Charles County Circuit Court of statutory sodomy and child molestation, and in St. Louis County Circuit Court, he faces charges of statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy and sexual exploitation of a child. He was in jail for those charges at the time of his arrest on the federal case.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Lake St. Louis Police Department, the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force, and the Maryland Heights Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Learn more about our mission to counter child exploitation in the community on Twitter @HSIKansasCity.

Anyone who may have information on victims is asked to call the Lake St. Louis Police Department at 636-625-8018 or email PoliceTips@LakeSaintLouis.com.