Springfield Missouri resident pleads guilty to sexual exploitation charges involving a 12-year-old girl.
A former teacher pleaded guilty to charges after he attempted to blackmail a student into sending him pornographic images. The instructor, a Springfield, Missouri man, previously worked as a teacher in China. Baldwin pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of receiving and distributing child pornography, on Monday, October 5th.
Baldwin had worked as an English teacher in China for the company EE Education First. He left employment of the company November 20th, 2019. He returned to Springfield from there, where he then contacted a 12-year-old former student through the We Chat application. Baldwin claimed that he had video footage showing her engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and threatened to post the video online unless she sent images and a video of herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The student’s father saw the messages and contacted EF Education First China School Authorities. On March 10, 2020, multiple items were seized in a search warrant executed at Baldwin’s residence. Item’s taken were Baldwin’s Mac Book Pro, which contained files of child pornography. Baldwin will face at least 15 years in prison without parole.