Poplar Bluff man remains in the Butler County jail after his Tuesday arrest on charges of sexual trafficking of a child.
The arrest of Chester Scott Burress, 61, was the result of an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control’s Digital Forensics Investigative Unit and the Missouri Digital Forensic Center.
On Tuesday, investigators with the patrol contacted Burress at his residence on South 11th Street in Poplar Bluff regarding the ongoing investigation, according to a press release from the MSHP. During their contact with Burress, child pornography was located on his cellular telephone, troopers report. He was arrested and transported to the Butler County jail.
On Wednesday, the Butler County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office formally charged Burress with sexual trafficking of a child and furnishing pornographic material to a minor.
“The Division of Drug and Crime Control encourages internet users to promptly report to the patrol or local law enforcement anyone who attempts to engage in unwanted, inappropriate, or sexualized communications with children,” the Patrol said in a news release.
The Digital Forensics Investigative Unit is partially funded by the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Missouri Digital Forensic Center is a joint effort of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, Missouri Department of Social Services, and the Missouri National Guard Counterdrug Program, and is coordinated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.