St. Francois Co. man pleads guilty, sentenced for sexual abuse of multiple young girls

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A St. Francois County man has been sentenced after an investigation showed he abused multiple young girls over several years.

Richard James Miller, 41, of St. Francois County, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating Miller in 2024 after an investigation at a New Jersey man’s home uncovered messages on Kik with Miller, which contained images of CSAM. HSI St. Louis found and interviewed Miller, who admitted to engaging in the sexual abuse of young girls at his home and to distributing photos of one of the young victims in a Kik group chat.

During the investigation, it was uncovered that Miller recorded the sexual abuse of two children between January 1, 2022, and May 24, 2024.

One of the victims told investigators that the abuse from Miller began when she was 15 years old.

The second victim told investigators that the abuse started when she was 8 or 9 years old, when she began spending time at Miller’s apartment. Miller would tell her to undress so he could take photos of her to send to his friends.

According to statements read in court on Monday, both victims said that Miller would threaten to kill their families. One victim said he threatened to kill her two dogs and make her watch.

In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman told the judge that although a third juvenile victim was not presenting a statement, she was abused in the same manner.

HSI St. Louis partnered with the Park Hills Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control to investigate this case.