Former Willard firefighter faces federal charges

Travis Mitchell, a former Willard firefighter who faced charges of sex crimes in Greene County, has had his case dropped as he has been charged in federal court for the receipt and distribution of child pornography.

Mitchell was previously charged with multiple sex crimes in February of this year, but Greene County stated that the crimes did not occur in Missouri and were therefore out of the state’s jurisdiction. 

Mitchell reportedly is accused of uploading nearly 40 depictions of child pornography to the internet. Documents also say that data provided by Google include additional instances of child pornography. 

Mitchell’s state case was dismissed earlier this month, as the alleged crimes did not happen in the state of Missouri. 

Mitchell was previously accused of sending lewd photos to victims and asking for the victim to send him sexually explicit images. Mitchell was also accused of modifying clothed images of victims with AI tools to remove clothing and admitted to using online chat randomizers to meet victims. 

As part of this investigation, police seized Mitchell’s phone and entered its files into evidence. 

In the probable cause statement for Mitchell’s state case, it is claimed that Mitchell possessed explicit images of more than 100 individuals on his device, with some of these individuals were those he knew personally through his various positions in the community. 

Mitchell previously faced charges including enticement or attempted enticement of a child, age misrepresentation with intent to solicit a minor and furnishing pornographic material or attempt to furnish to a minor. 

Federal charges have reportedly been filed and Mitchell is set to appear in court May 20.