Mississippi inmate and Michigan woman charged with child pornography

© MDOC/AGO

A man imprisoned in Mississippi and a woman in Michigan are charged with the production and distribution of child pornography via text message.

David Rhyne, 33, currently incarcerated in the East Mississippi Correctional Facility in Meridian, and Stephanie Rascoe, 44, a resident of Ecorse, Michigan, are accused of taking and texting illegal images of a two-year-old child by the Mississippi Attorney General's office.

Investigators with the Ecorse and Dearborn Michigan Police Departments Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force transferred a case involving a complaint of illegal images taken of a two year old child to the Mississippi Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force under the Mississippi Attorney General's Office. This led to federal warrants being served on and Rhyne and Rasco.

Rhyne also faces charges for possession of child pornography.

The alleged victim is a child entrusted occasionally to the care of Rascoe.

Rascoe was on a visit to Mississippi when she was arrested on Wednesday, and has been booked into the Lee County jail. Rhyne is serving time for sexual battery and was served in prison with the current federal warrant.

"This case is the epitome of the work we do with our federal partners and our ICAC partners on a daily basis, " said Attorney General Jim Hood. "We greatly appreciate the work of the FBI, the U.S. Attorneys Office, the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Lee County Sheriff's Department and the Ecorse and Dearborne Michigan Police Departments on this case."

If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years on production charges and 15 years on the distribution charges. Rhyne also faces up to 15 years on the possession charge and an additional 10 years for being a convicted felon.