ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Thursday sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for exchanging cash and other items of value for sex with a minor.

Theodore “Ted” John Sartori Sr., 64, of Gerald provided cash, a car, a motorcycle, Christmas presents and vacations to a friend from 2013-2016 in exchange for access to the victim, beginning when she was 14 years old.

The victim said in court that Sartori’s crime has caused “life-long trauma, hopeless relationships,” flashbacks, PTSD and low self-esteem.

Sartori pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in August to a felony charge of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. As part of his plea, Sartori agreed to pay more than $25,000 in restitution to his victim.

“I applaud our investigators and prosecutors for bringing Ted Sartori to justice. We hope his 10-year prison sentence will bring some measure of closure to his victim,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Because of the trauma the victim had to endure since she was a minor, we will never stop pursuing co-defendant Donald Eugene Fields II, who is one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.”

The FBI, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are asking for the public’s help in locating Fields, 60. He was indicted in 2022 but has not been arrested. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to Fields’ arrest. More information is available at https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/donald-eugene-fields-ii.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated jointly by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI, with assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards 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.