GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A former Mississippi police sergeant has pleaded guilty to producing a video that shows a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, federal authorities said.
Joshua Stockstill, 29, of Carriere, enticed a minor child to engage in sexually explicit conduct and recorded the conduct on his cellphone in Pearl River County in November 2018, U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca said in a news release Tuesday.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children became aware of the video and other images, LaMarca’s office said. On July 14, with NCMEC’s help, the FBI in Gulfport identified Stockstill, a former sergeant with the Picayune Police Department, as the producer of the video.
Stockstill was fired in July after being arrested in the case. He had worked for the police department for six years.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 24 in Gulfport. Stockstill faces up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
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