Welker Pleads Guilty to Sex Abuse

Bollinger Co., Mo. (KFMO) - A Bollinger County man, 40-year-old Justin Wade Welker, will be sentenced in November on a charge of receipt of child pornography.

A press release from the United States Attorney's Office, in Cape Girardeau, indicates Welker pled guilty to the charge Thursday in U. S. District Court. Records show he admitted receiving and viewing child sex abuse material, including pictures and videos, on his phone. 

The investigation began when the FBI office in Detroit alerted their counterparts in St. Louis that two people were discussing engaging in sex acts with a minor on the Kik messaging and chat app. The FBI had traced one of the participants to Welker’s home in the village of Sedgewickville. FBI agents approached Welker at work, and he admitted viewing child pornography via Kik.

The charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison.