Missouri sex offender indicted on child pornography charges

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A registered sex offender from south central Missouri was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury for receiving child pornography over the Internet.

This indictment resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Lebanon (Mo.) Police Department.

Wayne Harlan Files, 76, of Lebanon, Mo., was charged in a one-count indictment that alleges Files received child pornography over the Internet between Nov. 1, 2011 and Feb. 1, 2012. Files became a registered sex offender following his 1993 conviction for forcible sodomy. Under federal statutes, a conviction on this current charge would result in a mandatory sentence of 15 to 40 years in federal prison without parole.

The charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.