U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig Archives

The former owner of a pizza restaurant in St. Louis is heading to federal prison, after being sentenced Friday to 65 years on child sex-related charges.

50-year-old Loren Copp, who owned Dojo Pizza on Morganford Road, was sentenced for production and possession of child pornography, along with the use of interstate facilities to coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Copp was convicted in December 2018 on eight counts of child sexual exploitation and enticement involving four victims.

Federal prosecutors say Copp groomed and sexually abused two minor females who had been in his custody since 2009. Prosecutors say he raped both girls multiple times each week at Dojo Pizza and recorded the acts with a cell phone or video recorder.

Prosecutors also say there was evidence of Facebook chats between three minor female victims and a Facebook account utilized by Copp.

Some of the victims were in U.S. District Court in St. Louis for today’s sentencing, and two of the mothers addressed U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Fleissig. In addition to sentencing Copp to 65 years in prison, Judge Fleissig also ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $294,000.

The FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case, along with the Regional Computer Crime Education and Enforcement Group.