KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man with a prior federal felony conviction for possessing child pornography was sentenced in federal court today for printing obscene images from a computer at a local public library.

David R. Buie, 63, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years and one month in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Buie to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration. The sentence in this case must be served consecutively to a four-month sentence imposed for violating the terms of his supervised release in an earlier, unrelated federal conviction for possessing child pornography.

On May 8, 2018, Buie was found guilty at trial of one count of possessing obscene images of the sexual abuse of children. Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Buie printed images of child obscenity from a computer at a public library. On July 11, 2017, Buie printed about 50 pages from a computer he was using at the Mid-Continent Public Library at 9253 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. Buie didn’t realize that the printer stopped because it was out of toner, so his print jobs were interrupted and only about half of his pages were printed. After Buie left the library, the toner in the printer was changed and the remaining pages of his original print job were printed. As one of the librarians was cleaning up, she removed the remaining pages and observed they were color copies depicting minors from a graphic sex comic.

Library staff contacted the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department to make a report. Buie was identified because his library card was associated with the print job. Security cameras within the library showed him using a computer at the time of the printing.

The U.S. Probation Office was also contacted, because Buie was on supervised release for a prior federal felony conviction for possessing child pornography. When probation officers searched Buie’s residence, they found the images of child obscenity that Buie had printed at the library. Buie told investigators that he visited various public libraries about once a week to view child obscenity anime. Buie said he often printed the images on the library’s printer.

According to court documents, Buie violated the terms of his supervised release on several occasions prior to his criminal offense at the library by possessing incest-like storybooks, “barely legal” pornography and failure to register as a sex offender. While on supervised release, Buie was provided numerous opportunities to avail himself of treatment related to his sexual attraction to minor females, including individual therapy, group therapy, re-directive therapy, and inpatient therapy. He made no progress in therapy and was discharged.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the U.S. Probation Office.

Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."