Lawrence Ellrick, 35, a soldier at Fort Leonard Wood, entered a guilty plea Thursday to producing child pornography.
Ellrick remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing.
Ellrick admitted that he used a minor, identified as “Jane Doe,” to produce child pornography between Jan. 1 and May 31, 2010, in Texas County.
By pleading guilty, Ellrick agreed to forfeit to the government a computer hard drive, a laptop computer, a desktop computer and a digital camera, all of which were used to commit the offenses.
Under federal statutes, Ellrick is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations and Army CID.