CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

A Pike County woman was sentenced Thursday to 45 years in federal prison for recording the sexual abuse of two toddlers and distributing the videos online.

Pamela Denise Sargent, 45, of Kimper, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell after pleading guilty in March to two counts of producing child pornography. Two additional charges were dismissed as part of her plea agreement.

Federal prosecutors said Sargent produced the videos between Dec. 30, 2023, and June 4, 2024. According to court records, she recorded herself sexually abusing the two children and directed the children to engage in sexual acts with each other.

Sargent then uploaded the recordings and sent them over the internet to a man in Missouri, prosecutors said.

The case grew out of a child pornography investigation in Park Hills, Missouri, where authorities arrested a man accused of possessing and promoting child pornography and sexually exploiting a minor.

According to court records, the man told investigators that he had received sexually explicit videos from a Kentucky woman. Investigators traced the recordings to Sargent.