Missouri man who drove to Arkansas, met undercover detective admits to child-porn charge

He faces at least 10 years in prison

A federal judge in Little Rock accepted a guilty plea Tuesday from a Missouri man who was arrested two years ago in Conway after he arranged to meet a purported father of two to have sex with the man's wife and possibly his 12-year-old daughter.

Andrew Brandon Potter of Independence, Mo., was arrested shortly after midnight June 9, 2017, when he drove to an undisclosed location in Conway to meet the man he had been corresponding with online, only to discover that the man was an undercover detective with the Faulkner County sheriff's office.

On Tuesday, Potter, now 38, entered a negotiated guilty plea to a charge of possession of child pornography in return for the dismissal of a second charge of receipt and distribution of child pornography. But because he is a registered sex offender -- with a previous conviction for second-degree statutory sodomy -- his possession charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Potter, represented by attorney Molly Sullivan of the federal public defender's office, agreed Tuesday that at sentencing in about three months, he will face 10-20 years in prison to be followed by a term of supervised release ranging from 5 years to life. Normally, possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, but without a mandatory minimum.

Potter told U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. that he understood that he faced the higher-than-usual sentence because of his history and other factors -- including that when arrested, he had pictures of pre-pubescent minors, as well as images portraying sadistic, masochistic or otherwise violent behavior, on his two cellphones. He also said he believed the plea deal was in his best interest.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Bragg told Moody that Potter began conversing with the undercover officer on May 4, 2017, in a chat room for pedophiles called "pedheaven." She said the officer pretended to be the father of two children, ages 9 and 12.

The prosecutor said Potter had sent a picture of himself holding his driver's license, with his hand partially covering some of the information, but the officer was still able to see the driver's license number and through it, discerned Potter's identity and his criminal history.

Potter was originally charged in state court with 27 counts related to child pornography, because of photos and videos he sent to the detective depicting sexually explicit conduct involving children between the ages of 8 and 12, but the state charges were dropped after the U.S. attorney's office adopted the case.

According to information provided by authorities at the time of his arrest, Potter also transmitted photos and videos showing women, children and Potter engaging in sexual acts with dogs. The undercover officer's affidavit said that upon Potter's arrest, officers also found a container of "male enhancement liquid" and a bottle of lubricant.

Bragg said that a forensic examination of Potter's cellphones turned up 46 still images and 27 videos of child pornography.

Metro on 05/29/2019

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