Franklin County Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Crimes

Franklin Co., Mo. (KFMO) - 63-year-old Theodore “Ted” John Sartori Sr., of Franklin Co., will be sentenced November 6, 2024, after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to a felony charge of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Sartori admitted from the winter of 2013 to the summer of 2016, he provided cash, a car, a motorcycle, Christmas presents, and vacations, to a friend in exchange for access to the victim, a 14-year-old girl.

As part of his plea, Sartori has also agreed to pay more than $25,000 in restitution to his victim. The charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison.

The FBI, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are asking for the public’s help in locating Sartori’s co-defendant, 60-year-old Donald Eugene Fields II. He was indicted in 2022 but has not been arrested. Fields II has been added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The FBI is offering up to $250,000 for information leading to his arrest.

More information is available at the FBI's website about Fields II.