Collins Sex Offender Sentenced to 17 Years for Child Pornography

A Collins man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for receiving child pornography on his cell phone.

Billy Puckett, 39, Collins, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 17 years in federal prison without parole.

On June 6, 2023, Puckett was found guilty at trial of one count of receiving child pornography. Puckett, a registered sex offender, has two prior felony convictions for statutory rape and a prior felony conviction for statutory sodomy.

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A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper initiated a traffic stop near the intersection of Highway 13 and East 316 Road in Bolivar, Mo., on Aug. 28, 2020. The trooper, who learned that Puckett was a registered sex offender, searched Puckett’s vehicle and found a cell phone plugged into a cigarette lighter.

When the phone’s screen activated, the trooper noticed Puckett had Facebook and Snapchat applications on the phone, which were not authorized due to Puckett’s status as a registered sex offender. The trooper seized Puckett’s phone, on which he located multiple images of child pornography, and Puckett was then arrested.

Investigators conducted a forensic examination of Puckett’s phone and found hundreds of images of child pornography.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.