Five people have been indicted for allegedly participating in a “child exploitation enterprise” in the Springfield area.
The 13-count indictment came down in November, but details of the allegations have been scant because many of the subsequent filings were sealed and could not be viewed by the public.
Now four months later, there are enough publicly available documents to shed some light on the allegations against the group, which include child sexual abuse, trading child porn images on the internet and disturbing messages in which the defendants discussed fantasies of raping kids.
Kevin McMillan, 34, is the first person named in the indictment, which generally means he is the person the government believes is most culpable in the case.
McMillan has been in jail since November 2019 when he was first charged with child porn-related offenses in state court. That case has since been dismissed to clear the way for the federal investigation, but the probable cause statement from 2019 provides some details about McMillan’s alleged actions.
Court documents in the federal case say McMillan and one of his co-defendants exchanged nude photos of a minor victim who McMillan also had sexual contact with. Documents say McMillan also exchanged messages with another co-defendant in which they discussed the idea of sexually abusing and impregnating children.
The other defendants in the federal child porn conspiracy case are Amber Baley, 36; Christine Rossiter, 34; Angela Brown 37; and Casie Rice, 50.
Baley is accused of taking nude photos of a child and sending those photos to others, according to court documents.
Brown is accused of exchanging messages with one of her co-defendants that involved child porn as well as incest porn and bestiality porn.
Court documents say Brown also made comments indicating she would be interested in helping one of her co-defendants drug and rape children.
Court documents say Rice is accused of exchanging emails with one of her co-defendants where they discussed how Rice would help her co-defendant rape a child.
Online records indicate all five of the defendants are in custody. They face possible life sentences if convicted.