Independence child sex abuser sentenced to 30 years for child pornography

An Independence man who produced child pornography while sexually assaulting five children was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in federal prison.

Kenneth R. Davis, 36, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, where he pleaded guilty in April.

Co-defendant Randy Mull, 38, also pleaded guilty in the case and was previously sentenced to 30 years.

The investigation that led to their convictions began in 2014 when two victims reported to Independence police that they had been sexually abused by Davis and Mull over a period of several years.

One of the victims told police that pictures were taken during some the encounters that started when he was 14.

Investigators subsequently found hundreds of video and still images of child pornography on a computer that belonged to Davis.

They were also able to identify four other child victims who had been used to produce pornography.

Davis was ordered to pay restitution of $5,000 to each of the five victims.

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Independence child sex abuser sentenced to 30 years for child pornography."