MSHP: PBPD officer, area woman "enticed" child involved in sex trafficking case

Amber Michelle Longhibler, 27, and Brandon Michael Hopper, 39, are charged with the unclassified felony of first-degree sexual trafficking of a child, the Class B felony of first-degree promoting child pornography and two Class D felonies of possession of child pornography.

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A Poplar Bluff police officer was among those charged Thursday afternoon with sexual trafficking of a child and multiple child pornography offenses.

Brandon Michael Hopper, 39, and Amber Michelle Longhibler, 27, were charged with the unclassified felony of first-degree sexual trafficking of a child, the Class B felony of first-degree promoting child pornography and two Class D felonies of possession of child pornography.

Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor also charged Longhibler with two additional Class D felonies of possession of child pornography.

Both Hopper and Longhibler are being held without bond in the Butler County jail.

Hopper reportedly was formally arraigned at about 3:30 p.m. by Associate Circuit Judge C. Wade Pierce. Hopper is to appear at 1 p.m. March 5 for a bond hearing in his case.

A nearly 10-year veteran of the police department, Hopper was terminated Thursday, according to a news release from Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley.

The charges stem from an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, at the request of Whiteley.

“On Feb. 26, we received a cyber tip involving a member of the Poplar Bluff Police Department,” Whiteley wrote in his request to patrol Col. Eric Olson. “The information indicated one of our officers was possibly sharing child pornography.

“As this involves one of our own employees, we are respectfully requesting DDCC handle the investigation.”

In a prepared statement, Whiteley said, the police department is cooperating fully with the “ongoing investigation regarding a now-former employee of its force.

“We cannot nor will we elaborate on the investigation.”

Whiteley said the reasoning is twofold.

“No. 1, we are not the investigating agency,” Whiteley said. “No. 2, we are not privy to the investigative material at this time.”

The complaints filed with the court alleges on Wednesday, Hopper and Longhibler “knowingly enticed (a juvenile), a person under the age of 12, to engage in a commercial sex act or a sexual performance or the production of explicit sexual material.”

The complaint further alleges on Wednesday, Hopper and Longhibler “knowing its content and character, possessed with intent to distribute or disseminate obscene material consisting of a photograph or still image containing female genitalia belonging to a female child under the age of 14 years as one of the participants.”

The child pornography possession charges alleged Hopper and Longhibler possessed visual depictions of children in sexually explicit conduct.

On Wednesday, Hopper was contacted at his rural Butler County residence and interviewed by investigators, according to patrol Sgt. Jeremy Weadon’s probable-cause affidavits.

“He admitted to having child pornography on his cellular telephone,” Weadon said. “His cellular telephone was seized and searched.

“Child pornography was located on the device.”

Weadon said he previewed two of the child pornography videos. Both videos reportedly depicted young girls in sexually explicit conduct.

“During the interview, he admitted to investigators he had sent and received child pornography online with Amber Longhibler,” Weadon said.

Longhibler, he said, also was interviewed.

“ … she admitted to taking nude photos of an 11-year-old female child,” Weadon said. “She said she took the photos at Hopper’s request and would send them to Hopper over the internet.”

Investigators, Weadon said, reviewed the information on both cellular devices.

“As recent as Feb. 26, 2020, Hopper asked Longhibler to ‘send me some … pics to trade, obviously no face pics,’” Weadon said. “Longhibler replied, ‘I’ll send you what I have.’

“She then transmitted two close up images of a prepubescent female child’s external genitalia.”

Weadon said other child pornography was stored within an application installed on Longhibler’s cellular telephone.

Weadon said he reviewed two files, which allegedly were sent by Hopper to Longhibler at 2:19 p.m. Wednesday.

The files were still images of children in sexually explicit conduct.

No information has been released regarding whether any of the allegations could involve Poplar Bluff students. The MSHP is directing further questions to Proctor, who has said he cannot comment on pending cases.