Lawrence man faces prison for child sexual abuse material convictions

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez today announced that Bruce S. Springsteen, 65, of Lawrence, pleaded no contest Friday to attempted sexual exploitation of a child by conducting internet searches for child sexual abuse material, a violation of his probation terms set in a similar 2021 case.

Springsteen had pleaded no contest to three counts of attempted exploitation of a child in 2021. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison by Judge Stacey Donovan who then suspended that sentence to 24 months probation. Springsteen violated his terms of probation on or about June 19, 2022 when Springsteen attempted to conduct internet searches for explicit material of a child who was under 18 years of age.

“The only way to stifle production and circulation of child sexual abuse material is to hold offenders accountable,” District Attorney Valdez said. “Children are revictimized each time this content is viewed.”

The State was represented by Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden. The case was investigated by the Special Victims Unit of the Lawrence Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Sentencing was set by Judge Donovan for 10 a.m., March 6, 2023 at the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

Springsteen faces up to 68 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections consecutive to the 24-month sentence in the case for which he has been on probation. Springsteen was already subject to lifetime registration as a sex offender based on his 2021 conviction.