John W. Gooch of Gerald has been charged with receipt of child pornography, a felony, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis).

The charges stem from a raid by the FBI on Gooch’s home in January. An indictment was returned in open court to Judge Matthew T. Schelp by the foreperson of the grand jury.

Gooch entered a plea of not guilty on Aug. 3.

The indictment states the grand jury found probable cause that:

Between on or about October 5, 2025 and on or about January 12, 2026, within the Eastern District of Missouri, John W. Gooch the defendant herein, did knowingly receive images of child pornography using any means or facility of interstate and foreign commerce . . .that the defendant received graphic image and video files via the Internet which contained child pornography, including, but not limited to, the following:

The indictment then describes two files. One was a graphic image file depicting an adult male raping a female toddler. The second was a graphic video file depicting, in part, prepubescent minor females engaging in sexual acts, according to the indictment document.

After filing a financial affidavit, Gooch is currently being represented by a court appointed attorney.

On Aug. 3, Gooch was granted additional time to investigate and prepare pretrial motions. A bond release hearing was scheduled for Aug. 7. On that day, Gooch was granted a own recognizance (OR) bond.

A criminal pretrial motion hearing has been set for Sept. 9.