Man arrested for multiple child sex abuse crimes in Columbia

A Columbia man was arrested in August for multiple child sex abuse crimes.

Keith Fletcher, 53, of Columbia, was taken into custody after an investigation was launched into his failure to register as a sex offender on August 7.

The Columbia Police Department (CPD) was contacted by a detective from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office regarding potential sexually explicit content on Fletcher’s devices involving a minor.

Upon further ingestion, CPD reported finding multiple images, videos and text messages between him and a juvenile.

According to court documents, Child Sex Abuse Materials (CSAM) were captured on Fletcher’s device on:

• December 22, 2023
• January 26, 2024
• February 5, 2024
• February 8, 2024

CPD reported that he can allegedly be heard speaking in the videos and seen in some of the images.

Probable cause statements noted that on August 8, officers interviewed the victim who claimed that Fletcher had sexually assaulted them on multiple occasions and that he had a connection to the foster care system.

Later on August 15 after the man was taken into custody, the victim reported to CPD that Fletcher had called them from the jail. He allegedly told them to deny all allegations against him if asked by police.

Fletcher is charged with:

• Second-Degree Statutory Rape
• Second Degree Statutory Sodomy
• Sex Trafficking of A Child under 18 Years Old
• Sexual Exploitation of A Minor
• Tampering with A Witness In A Felony Prosecution
• Second-Degree Aggravated Sexual Offense of A Child Less Than 17 Years Old
• Second Subsequent Offense of Possessing More Than 20 Materials of Child Pornography

He was booked into the Boone County Jail without bond.