Merriam Woods man sentenced 17 years for sexual exploitation of 2 children following HSI, joint law enforcement partner investigation

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Merriam Woods man was sentenced in federal court Sept. 7 for the sexual exploitation of two child victims following a joint Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), law enforcement partner investigation.

Billy Rae Clark, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 17 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Clark to 30 years of supervised release following incarceration.

On April 12, Clark pleaded guilty to two counts of the sexual exploitation of a child. Clark admitted that he secretly recorded a 15-year-old minor, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 1, while she was in the bathroom taking a shower. Clark positioned his cell phone in the bathroom so that it faced the shower and used it to record video of the child victim. Jane Doe 1 discovered the cell phone and the video; she reported it to another person, who then contacted law enforcement.

When investigators searched Clark’s cell phone, they also found 19 images of a second child victim, an 11-year-old identified in court documents as Jane Doe 2, including images of child pornography.

This case was investigated by HSI, the Taney County Sheriff’s Office, and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller.

Learn more about HSI’s mission to combat child exploitation in your community on Twitter @HSIKansasCity.

Homeland Security Investigations

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 over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 86 overseas locations in 55 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.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.