A Missouri woman is accused of sexually abusing a young boy and livestreaming the assault for her boyfriend, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Authorities have charged 31-year-old Heather McDorman, who also allegedly tried to photograph young girls in public restrooms, with five counts of production of child pornography and two counts of attempting to produce child porn.
McDorman—who is from Barnhart, Missouri, about 33 miles south of St. Louis—pleaded guilty on Thursday to the charges.
As part of the plea deal with prosecutors, she admitted to going to a mall on March 12, 2018, and standing on a toilet in in a restroom so she could try to photograph girls in adjacent stalls. When McDorman was caught and arrested, she said her boyfriend, 28-year-old Zachary Hamby, told her to take the photos, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Marcus.
McDorman further admitted to photographing or attempting to take photos in bathrooms of parks, malls, a church and a Walmart, the newspaper reports.
Prosecutors allege she also sexually abused a 4-year-old boy and photographed and livestreamed the abuse so Hamby could watch on his phone. The video could not be accessed publicly.
Investigators discovered photos on the woman’s phone that depicted the boy in bondage, as well as images of a young girl, according to Marcus.
Hamby, from the St. Louis area as well, also is accused of taking pictures of young females in restroom stalls and sexually abusing a 4-year-old boy. He has pleaded guilty to the same charges as McDorman and is scheduled to be in court later this month for a hearing on his mental competence.
McDorman claims she suffers from depression and PTSD.
The lawyer for both McDorman and Marcus will recommend that each be sentenced to 25 years in prison, according to the terms of the plea agreement.
Related Podcast:
[Feature Photo: Heather McDorman, Zachary Hamby/St. Louis County Police]
