A Joplin man pleaded guilty Tuesday to producing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.

22-year-old William Lee Potts, of Joplin, pleaded guilty in US District Court Tuesday afternoon to the charges of having sex with a 16-year-old girl and making videos of the act

Potts was indicted by a grand jury on charges of producing child pornography between April 26th and May 1st of 2019. He was found in a motel room with the girl on May 1st.

Potts had brought the teen from Waynesville to Joplin previously.

When Potts was questioned, he confessed to engaging in sexual intercourse with the victim. He also acknowledged that he was aware of the victim’s age and the illegality of his acts.

Potts admitted to photographing and making several video recordings of the victim engaged in sexual misconduct.

Investigators then conducted searches and found sexually explicit images and one child pornographic video on his cell phone.