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Strafford Woman Sentenced to 300 Months for Producing Child Pornography

Jessica Nicole Pickett, 36, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison without parole for her role in a conspiracy to sexually abuse two children and produce child pornography.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 25, 2026, 6:12 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 25, 2026, 6:22 p.m. ET
Developing · checked 2h ago

This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.

We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 25, 2026, 5:39 p.m. ET — checked 2h ago.

A Strafford, Mo., woman was in federal court on Aug. 25, 2026, for her role in a “throuple” who sexually abused two children to produce child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri. Jessica Nicole Pickett, 36, was by U.S. District Judge Megan Blair Benton to a total of 25 years in federal prison without parole, to be followed by a life term of supervised release. Pickett will be required to register as a sex offender upon her release and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout her life. Pickett pleaded guilty on Jan. 22, 2026, to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of children and transfer of obscene material to a minor. She admitted to participating in a conspiracy with Mallory Bunch and Thomas Bunch (now deceased, formerly Mallory Bunch’s husband with whom they were involved in a polyamorous relationship) to sexually abuse two minor victims and to produce child pornography depicting that abuse from Sept. 2, 2016, to May 23, 2024. Pickett also admitted to sharing an iCloud link that contained 376 images and two videos of the sexual activity of Mallory and Thomas Bunch and Pickett with one of the minor victims. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan and investigated by the Greene County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and Webster County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office. It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 25, 2026, 6:12 p.m. ETFirst report

    Strafford Woman Sentenced to 25 Years for Producing Child Pornography

    A Strafford, Missouri, woman was sentenced in federal court on August 25, 2026, for her role in a conspiracy to sexually abuse two children and produce child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.

    Jessica Nicole Pickett, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Megan Blair Benton to 25 years in federal prison without parole, followed by a life term of supervised release. She will be required to register as a sex offender upon release, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

    Pickett pleaded guilty on January 22, 2026, to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of children and transfer of obscene material to a minor. She admitted to participating in a conspiracy with Mallory Bunch and Thomas Bunch (now deceased) to sexually abuse two minor victims and produce child pornography depicting that abuse from September 2, 2016, to May 23, 2024. She also admitted to sharing an iCloud link containing 376 images and two videos of the sexual activity, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan and investigated by the Greene County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Webster County Sheriff's Office. It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006.

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Revision history

  1. Version 125 Aug 2026, 22:22current

    First published.

  2. Version 125 Aug 2026, 22:12current

    First published.

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