SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A West Plains man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court July 16 for possessing hundreds of computer-generated images of child sexual abuse material following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Kansas City investigation.
Dace Allen Doverspike, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Doverspike to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration.
“Doverspike’s reprehensible actions have caused immense harm to innocent children,” said HSI Kansas City acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito. “Our resolve to protect the vulnerable remains unwavering, and HSI and our law enforcement partners are working relentlessly to pursue justice against those who exploit and endanger our community.”
Doverspike, who has a prior federal felony conviction for possessing child pornography, pleaded guilty on Aug. 29, 2023, to possessing an obscene visual representation of the sexual abuse of children.
Doverspike’s probation officer seized his cellphone on May 10, 2023, during a home visit as part of the conditions of his supervised release. The officer discovered multiple images and videos of pornography, including computer-generated images and videos of child sexual abuse, and transferred the phone to HSI for examination and further investigation. A task force officer examined a microSD storage device that had been inserted into the phone, which contained 255 computer-generated image files that depicted child sexual abuse.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by HSI and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. attorneys' offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Together with partners in law enforcement, state and local government, international counterparts, and nongovernmental organizations, the HSI workforce does heroic work to prevent these crimes, support those who are impacted by them, and hold perpetrators accountable.
HSI offers multiple options for virtual and in-person trainings to educate the public about the growing threats children and teens face online.
Learn more about HSI Kansas City’s mission to eradicate online child exploitation on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSIKansasCity.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.