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The Child Porn Case Against A Local School Cop Nearly Died. Then Investigators Noticed Something

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Darrin M Skinner mugshot

Editor's Note

This article has been updated to clarify that Skinner was placed on administrative leave on Aug. 1. The original version incorrectly stated that it was unclear whether Skinner was on active duty in August.

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — The former Camden County Deputy and School Resource Officer charged with 14 counts of child pornography crimes pleaded not guilty in court Dec. 21, and his case will continue through the criminal justice system like any other felony, says the Camden County Prosecutor.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) arrested 49-year-old Darrin M. Skinner of Camdenton on Dec. 18 for both possessing and sending child porn. Presiding Judge Michael Gilley decided Skinner's bond conditions are to remain unchanged. He is currently being held at the Camden County Jail with no bond.

Prosecuting Attorney Richelle Christensen Grosvenor said the next steps for Skinner is his 7-day bond hearing on Jan. 2, 2024. The court will review the status of Skinner's counsel and then schedule the preliminary hearing. 

The case against Skinner nearly died before charges were filed, but it was resuscitated by the critical eye of an investigator in the Camden County Prosecutor's Office who noticed something was missing.

Download PDF TIMELINE: The Investigation Of Darrin Skinner's Alleged Child Porn Crimes
The following timeline assembled by LakeExpo is based on information from the probable cause (charging) document in Skinner's case. As of this publication, all claims are allegations and must be proven in a court of law.

The Investigation

Authorities say Skinner's case spans three years, starting with a CyberTip from the social network MeWe in 2020 before landing in the Camden County Sheriff's Office in June.

Once a detective identified Skinner as the suspect on July 26, the investigation was handed to the MSHP for conflict of interest. The probable cause document seems to indicate six days passed between July 26 and the request to MSHP; however, in a public letter on Aug. 23, Helms wrote, "As soon as I had this information in late July, I requested a special investigation be conducted by the Digital Forensics Investigative Unit, a state agency working under the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Once the special investigation request was accepted, placed the deputy on administrative leave on August 1st pending the outcome of the investigation."

An August MSHP search warrant at Skinner's house led to an interview, where Skinner allegedly confirmed the MeWe account belonged to him. Skinner also allegedly said he did receive images of child porn but deleted them immediately and never sent pictures to others. His cellphone was seized during the search as well. The Missouri Digital Forensic Center found no media files of child porn on Skinner's device, so the MSHP investigator concluded there was not enough information to request criminal charges. 

The case nearly died there.

In August, the case file was submitted to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office for review, where investigator Tracy Robinett took the helm.  

"I certainly credit him with picking up the ball and running with it after we got the referral that [the Patrol was] closing the investigation," Grosvenor said. "He is an excellent investigator with training and experience specific to kid cases."

From the time Skinner was definitively determined to be a suspect on July 26, until his termination on Aug. 22, he remained on the Camden County Sheriff's Office payroll, though he was on administrative leave beginning on Aug. 1. The Sheriff's Office fired Skinner one day before the Macks Creek school year started, where he had worked as a resource officer.

LakeExpo reached out to Camden County Sheriff Tony Helms' office, to ask about the length of time it took for the sheriff's office to refer the case to the MSHP as well as why Skinner remained on payroll for nearly a month after he was identified as the suspect in the investigation. Helms did not respond. 

Grosvenor told LakeExpo that when the prosecutor's office received the case file, there were unanswered questions.

"When it came into our office, we needed to make sure that we uncovered every stone," Grosvenor said. "The prosecutor and the investigator just simply decided that they were going to continue the investigation until it made sense."

During the review, Robinett noticed an absence of data in MeWe's original search warrant response, so he followed up with the social network and obtained the full account data in December.

"It was important to us when we got the information that we moved on it as quickly as possible," Grosvenor added.

When asked if there was any indication that Lake area children were impacted by Skinner's alleged crime, Grosvenor said she couldn't comment on that part of the investigation yet.

"There are other elements, other information, that was found that we are still investigating," Grosvenor said. 

The missing data obtained by Robinett led to reportedly critical evidence for the case. In the MeWe user chat allegedly connected to Skinner's account, MSHP investigator John Pehle observed 18 images that met the definition of child porn. Skinner had allegedly sent 15 of the pictures to other users.

"I want the public to know that the prosecutor's office really cares about these kind of cases, not just from people who are in authority, but anybody who is deciding to have any sort of violence against children," Grosvenor said. "People claim this is a victimless crime, and it's complete nonsense. We take it really seriously."

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