Published on January 30, 2026 10:29 am
Last Updated on January 30, 2026 10:29 am
A church official from Illinois was arrested on a child pornography charge Wednesday and appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday.
Michael William Mohr, 54, of Springfield, was charged by complaint Wednesday in St. Louis with one count of producing child pornography. He will be held in jail until trial after waiving his right to a detention hearing.
The affidavit in support of the complaint alleges that a court-approved search of Mohr’s home in Springfield found storage devices that contained videos of three juveniles in the bathroom. A search of a residence used by Mohr in Vandalia uncovered a hidden camera disguised as a wall clock and one disguised as a Bluetooth speaker, the affidavit says. The investigation began after one of the juveniles told the Vandalia Police Department that he discovered a camera disguised as an electronic device charger in a hotel bathroom the morning after Mohr stood above him and masturbated, the affidavit says.
Mohr is the president of the Central Illinois District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
A charge set forth in a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and does not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI. Submit information via tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
FBI St. Louis and St. Louis County Police investigated the case with assistance from FBI Springfield (Illinois) and the Vandalia Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
