Michael R. Throm, a Maplewood sex offender, was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison after being found again with child sexual abuse material. U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Divine delivered the sentence in St. Louis.
Judge Divine also sentenced Throm, 46, to an additional 18 months for violating his supervised release from a prior case.
Throm was previously convicted of possession and receipt of child pornography in 2014 and served a 65-month prison sentence, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. His probation officer discovered two unauthorized smartphones containing child sexual abuse material during a visit to his apartment on June 9, 2025. Evidence showed Throm attempted to text child sexual abuse material to his downstairs neighbor, who is also a sex offender on supervised release.
Throm pleaded guilty in April to one count of receipt of child pornography in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
The U.S. Probation Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice launched in May 2006. The project aims to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. It is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, marshalling federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet and to identify and rescue victims.
