United States of America v. Thomas Ray Kelso

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 25-1238
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Thomas Ray Kelso
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Central
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Submitted: May 21, 2026
Filed: June 10, 2026
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, KELLY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Thomas Ray Kelso appeals his conviction after a jury found him guilty of sex
trafficking (3 counts) and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. See
18 U.S.C. § 1591(a), 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C). On appeal, Kelso challenges

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the district court’s1 admission of testimony from multiple witnesses as well as the
court’s denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal. We affirm.
We conclude the district court properly admitted the challenged witness
testimony, as it was relevant to establish Kelso’s intent. See United States v. Wright,
993 F.3d 1054, 1061 (8th Cir. 2021) (standard of review); United States v. Thomas,
760 F.3d 879, 883 (8th Cir. 2014) (Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) is construed broadly as a rule
of inclusion and reversal is warranted only when the evidence clearly had no bearing
on the case and was introduced solely to prove the defendant’s propensity to commit
criminal acts). Furthermore, even if the evidence was not properly admitted, we
conclude any error was harmless given the overwhelming evidence supporting his
conviction. See United States v. Parrow, 172 F.4th 625, 629-30 (8th Cir. 2026)
(reviewing for harmless error). Finally, we conclude the district court did not err in
denying Kelso’s motion for judgment of acquittal, as any rational trier of fact could
have concluded that E.B. was a victim of sex trafficking under section 1591(a). See
United States v. Almeida-Olivas, 865 F.3d 1060, 1062 (8th Cir. 2017) (standard of
review).
The judgment is affirmed.
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1The Honorable James M. Moody, Jr., United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Arkansas.
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