Man charged with Mid-Missouri child sex crimes appears in court

A Jefferson City man charged in Cole County for allegedly contacting underage children on a mobile app in April was charged Wednesday in Boone County.

36-year-old Andrew Clayton appeared in court Thursday.

Clayton is accused of creating child pornography involving a 14-year-old in Boone County.

Deputies began investigating Clayton in Cole County in March after it was determined he was contacting underage boys on the mobile app KIK between August 1, 2014 and March 27.

Victims interviewed by the Cole County Sheriff’s Department said Clayton would either meet up with them to engage in sexual acts, or send explicit photos of other underage children.

The Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force arrested Clayton Wednesday after investigators gathered enough evidence regarding sex acts involving a 14-year-old girl.

Cole County deputies identified the girl, who reportedly said Clayton was at her house and videotaped sex acts involving her and two other underage boys.

Those two boys have not yet been identified.

Clayton was arrested and charged with 2 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in Boone County.