DONIPHAN — A Doniphan woman was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging her with possessing pornographic images of prepubescent females engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Rosemary H. Straughn, 29, was arrested at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at her residence by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on a Ripley County warrant for the Class D felony of possession of child pornography and a Ripley County failure to appear warrant for a drug offense.
Straughn was booked at the Ripley County Sheriff’s Department. Her bond is set at $20,000.
The complaint filed with the court alleges on Aug. 8, Straughn “knowingly possessed child pornography that was a visual depiction of a person less than 18 years of age engaged in sexually explicit conduct, consisting of three pornographic images on (her) cellular phone depicting prepubescent females …”
The charge stems from an investigation by the patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control’s digital forensics investigative unit.
On Aug. 8, DDCC officers were conducting a child pornography investigation stemming from a Butler County cyber-tip alleging a man was sending photographs containing child pornography to Straughn, Trooper Matthew Foster wrote in his probable-cause affidavit.
Foster contacted Straughn at her Doniphan home.
During an interview, Foster said, Straughn confirmed she knew the man because he had lived in Fairdealing.
“Straughn recalled that she and (the man) messaged each other quite frequently on Facebook Messenger,” Foster said.
When Straughn was asked what she and the man talked about, Foster said, “Straughn said they said they loved each other and asked how each other’s day was going.
“Straughn remembered that (the man) sent her ‘normal’ pornographic images in the past, but she ignored them.”
Foster said he confronted Straughn with the cyber-tip information, which alleged she had been sent pornographic images of children.
“Straughn replied with, ‘Those are the ones I try to overlook,’” Foster said.
When asked how old the females appeared to be, Straughn reportedly recalled one image where the female appeared to be in her early teens.
“Straughn stated she never asked for the photographs, but (the man) sent them anyway,” Foster said.
Straughn, he said, opened her Facebook Messenger on her cellular device and opened the chat between herself and the man.
After Straughn gave Foster her cellular device, Foster said, he found multiple pornographic photographs sent and received between Straughn and the man.
Foster said Straughn also gave him permission to digitally analyze her cellphone.
A search warrant later was sought and executed.
“I examined the extracted data from the cellular device,” Foster said. “During the examination, I located four photographs of (the man).
“I also located three pornographic photographs that appeared to be prepubescent females.”
Those images, he said, were saved in a folder with other pornographic photographs.