Nikole Babb
nbabb@cherryroad.com
It’s been nearly a year since a substantial update was warranted on Joel Justice Womochil’s federal case. Within a week he pleaded not guilty to eight charges relating to child pornography then petitioned to change his course of plea to a guilty plea agreement, which was signed and submitted then scheduled for sentencing.
Womochil’s case originated last year when the El Dorado Police Department, alongside the Kansas ICAC and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, began an investigation that led to his arrest on August 15, 2023. His initial charges in Butler County tallied up to 30 in total, including 24 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and 10 counts of aggravated internet trading in child pornography.
As the case moved through Butler County courts, the US Marshals took Womochil into custody on federal charges, pausing his district case. He was initially taken in on two charges including one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Those charges were later amended to one count of conspiracy to commit sexual exploit – production of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Although the amendments to charges don’t stop there. In a third superseding indictment filed on October 1 of this year, a grand jury filed the following eight charges against Womochil:
-Two counts for conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child related to the production of child pornography
-One count for distribution of child pornography
-One count for receipt of child pornography
-Two counts for solicitation of child pornography
-Two counts for possession of child pornography
After entering a plea of not guilty in response to the indictment, a jury trial was scheduled for October 21 of this year, which was cancelled shortly after. Womochil had changed his mind and petitioned to enter a plea deal with the United States District Court of Kansas on October 8 and a plea agreement made on October 9. He is pleading guilty to two charges within the indictment, which are two counts for conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child relating to the production of child pornography. The counts are separate occasions with his co-conspirators, Denise Renee Sandmann of Indiana, and Jessica Lynn Quave of Council Grove, Kan.
The first count details that Sandmann recorded video files for Womocil that depict her sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl. The second count details Quave sexually assaulting, kissing and subjecting a young girl to oral sex whose exact age isn’t mentioned in the document, but is noted to be under the age of six at the time of recording. Quave used Snapchat to send the videos to Womochil.
Taylor M. Mullen of Council Grove, who lived with Quave and was arrested around the same time, is another co-conspirator listed in the federal case but was not mentioned in the plea agreement.
In a federal court document certifying records from Snapchat, investigators found that Womochil would solicit child pornography from creators of the illegal content, sending messages like the following, which are disturbing:
“I have no limits when it comes to how young I love,” said Womochil. “Has to wait till payday though.”
The rest of the quote was not suitable for print in a newspaper but said in his own words that he was willing to receive content of any aged child being sexually assaulted from touching an infant to the full rape of a child aged four and older.
Womochil could be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years which can be followed by a term of supervised release of at least 5 years that can be up to Life, and a maximum fine of $250,000.00. As part of the plea agreement, the United States District Court of Kansas agreed to dismiss the remaining counts of the Third Superseding Indictment (and earlier indictments and complaint) at the time of sentencing and to not file any additional charges against the defendant arising out of the basis for the present Third Superseding Indictment.
The case with the Butler County District Court has been dropped against Womochil as of April 2024. This could leave him with only two counts of conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child relating to the production of child pornography and a maximum of sixty years in federal prison when all is said and done.
The 39-year-old’s next appearance in federal court is scheduled for January 22 when he will be sentenced.
UPDATED 10/11/24, 9:35pm: This article has been updated to reflect accurate information about the case with the Butler County District Court.
