St. Charles County man pleads guilty to soliciting sex from minors

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – A St. Charles County man pleaded guilty Monday to soliciting sex from two minors through social media in 2020.

Thomas J. Bowles, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a child, two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of production of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography.

According to Bowles’ plea agreement, from Jan. 1, 2020, to Aug. 20, 2020, Bowles repeatedly contacted a minor, offering to be her “sugar daddy” in exchange for sex acts and providing him with sexual photos and videos.

Bowles reached out to a second minor through Snapchat in 2020 offering to also be her “sugar daddy” in exchange for meeting with her for sexual contact. In two of these encounters, prosecutors said Bowles made video recordings.

According to Bowles’ plea agreement, he knew that both girls were minors.

Bowles is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 13, 2024. The government will be requesting a sentence of 40 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

The sex trafficking and coercion charges both carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. The production of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years and a maximum of 50 years in prison. The receipt of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) offers resources 24/7 to victims of sexual assault. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673. RAINN also offers support to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Those resources can be found here.

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