JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
KOMU 8 [Columbus, MO]
March 21, 2024
By Stephanie Southey, KOMU 8 Digital Content Editor
A Jefferson City man was charged with promoting and possession of child pornography Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Melvin Lahr, 77, was arrested Wednesday and is being held without bond at the Cole County Jail, according to online court records.
According to court documents, investigators found dozens of images of child sexual abuse material on an online account linked to Lahr.
When a search warrant was served at Lahr’s home Wednesday, he allegedly admitted to viewing images online for approximately 30 years, court documents said.
Lahr also allegedly admitted to taking photos of two 14-year-old girls and engaging in sexual activity with a minor approximately 20 years ago.
Court documents said Lahr detailed his abuse in an unpublished biography that was in the online account and shared the biography with other “like-minded individuals online.”
The Jefferson City Diocese added Lahr to its list of clergy accused of abuse in December 2018, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.
Lahr worked at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Columbia in the 1970s and 1980s, according to Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). He was also chaplain at the Boonville Training School for Boys in 1974-1975 and worked in Hannibal, Canton, Boonville, Bourbon, Salibury and St. Martins.
No hearings have been scheduled in Lahr’s case.