Former Grain Valley cop pleads guilty to federal child sex crime charges: Court documents
A disgraced former Grain Valley police officer pleaded guilty to two child sex crimes charges after sexually exploiting a 15-year-old girl he met on social media.
August P. Gildehaus, 29, pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Greg Kaysin to enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, as well as to production of child pornography. He could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, or a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison on the first charge and 15 years in prison on the second charge.
Gildehaus, of Blue Springs, was originally charged in Jackson County court with nine felonies, including statutory rape and sodomy, according to court documents.
Gildehaus’ former colleagues in the Grain Valley Police Department were first called to investigate a missing 15-year-old girl in the early hours of March 5, 2023, according to court documents. She came home later that morning and told police she had been in a “sexual relationship” with a man she later identified as Gildehaus, court documents read.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol ultimately took over the investigation into Gildehaus’ conduct. When interviewed by investigators in April, Gildehaus admitted to meeting up with the teen on four other occasions and recording sexual encounters with her in his truck — once in a middle school parking lot, according to court documents.
Gildehaus told investigators that he had been communicating with the teen online since August 2022, mostly on the social media platforms Discord and Omegle, according to court documents. His laptop was confiscated during court proceedings and a search warrant for his Discord profile was obtained, leading to the child pornography charge, court documents read.
The Grain Valley Police Department placed Gildehaus on administrative leave, and subsequently fired him, in April 2023.
The Highway Patrol’s sexual exploitation investigation into Gildehaus’ of the 15-year-old also led to sex crime charges against two other men. Antoine Richardson, 24, of Leavenworth, is accused in Jackson County of statutory rape and possession of child sexual abuse images.
Tryston Michael Hastings, 24, of Kansas City, faces four felony charges in Clay County of statutory rape and sodomy.
Regardless of the length of his sentence, Gildehaus will be required upon release to register as a sex offender both federally and in Missouri, according to court documents.
