WARRENSBURG — A Higginsville resident has been arraigned on 35 criminal charges involving crimes such as rape, sodomy, sexual trafficking of a child, promoting child pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor.
At 11:08 a.m. June 17, Bryan Priess, 60, of Higginsville, was arrested in Johnson County for three counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of second-degree sexual trafficking of a child, three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of first-degree rape, one count of first-degree attempted rape, eight counts of first-degree sodomy, three counts of second-degree promoting child pornography, three counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of patronizing prostitution, three counts of second-degree promoting obscenity and three counts of child use for sexual performance.
He was transported to the Johnson County Jail and placed on a 24-hour hold pending charges.
Priess was arraigned on the charges and pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance Friday, June 18, in Johnson County Circuit Court.
According to the court’s probable cause statement, at least two of the defendant’s victims include juvenile Warrensburg residents.
Court records state the Missouri State Highway Patrol received information from the National Human Trafficking Hotline in November 2020 regarding sex trafficking of minors in Jackson County.
According to court documents, one of the victims stated that they met Priess through rodeo events one to two years prior, when they were around the age of 15 or 16. The victim stated Priess would provide them and their friends alcoholic beverages at these events and later promised to give the victim a pony for them to raise.
The victim stated that in June or July of 2018 or 2019, Priess picked them up claiming that he was going to show them the pony, but instead took them to a hotel in Grain Valley.
The victim stated that upon entering the hotel room, Priess raped them and made them pose for photographs in lingerie and in the nude.
The victim advised that Priess told them he had taken photographs of other individuals and was selling the photos to a pornography website. The victim went on to say they believe individuals were helping Priess recruit juveniles for photographs and sex.
The victim stated Priess attempted to pay them $180 for her photographs and sex. The victim stated they refused the monetary offer and Priess threatened to disseminate their nude photographs to their friends if they told anyone about what he did to her.
Following the victim’s statements, a search warrant was issued in December 2020 through Lafayette County Circuit Court for Priess’ Higginsville residence and electronics. Priess’ cellular phone and laptop were seized during the search warrant execution.
According to a MSHP corporal, an analysis of Priess’ cell phone revealed a total of 73 photographs containing juveniles engaged in multiple sexual acts taken in August 2020, November 2020 and December 2020. The file path of the photos showed they were taken by Priess’ phone.
The corporal stated none of the photos included the juvenile’s faces and all appeared to be photographed in hotel rooms.
Court documents state that in August 2020, Priess took four photographs of a juvenile and an adult, all containing nudity, at the Days Inn in Warrensburg.
The corporal stated the photographed adult used false information to get the victim to the Days Inn, claiming they were meeting someone to sell old clothes.
According to the corporal, the sexualy explicit photographs were sent via text to a telephone number belonging to Warrensburg resident Justin Jones.
Court documents state on two separate occasions, in November 2020 and December 2020, 69 sexualy explicit photos of the same juvenile were taken at Skyhaven Motel in Warrensburg.
The victim stated they met Priess through a friend who told them Priess takes “modeling photographs” and could make a lot of money from him. The victim stated that after the photographs were taken, Priess asked them if they had any friends who wanted to get involved.
The victim went on to say Priess provided them a list of other juveniles he had photographed.
Another victim stated they were photographed in sexually explicit positions by Priess on two occasions between August 2020 and November 2020 at Hotel Lexi Hill in Lexington.
The corporal stated an investigation revealed that Priess had rented rooms at Hotel Lexi Hill on five separate occasions during the time frame the victim referenced to law enforcement.
The victim also stated they overheard a conversation Priess had with an unknown male over speakerphone in which Priess indicated he would sell photos to the unknown male and then delete the photos from his phone.
The victim went on to describe an incident they claim took place between them and Priess in August. According to the victim, after Priess had taken photos of them in lingerie, he told them they could not leave and told them to take off their pants.
The victim stated they asked, “If I don’t, am I in trouble?” and Priess had replied, “Well, bad things are going to happen.”
The victim stated Priess attempted to force them to have sexual intercourse with him, but they resisted. The victim stated they might have sustained physical damage from the incident.
The corporal stated that multiple victims indicated they were scared Priess would try to retaliate or intimidate them for speaking with investigators.
The corporal also stated that Priess attempted to contact at least two victims as well as Jones over the phone and travelled to one victim’s place of employment during the investigation.
The corporal stated Priess is charged with multiple offenses subject to lifetime imprisonment.
