Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Trevor Mayer (24, Sheldon, Iowa) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for producing material depicting the sexual exploitation of children. Mayer was also ordered to serve a 15-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

Mayer had pleaded guilty on December 15, 2020.

According to court documents, Mayer sought out children as young as 13 years old online and asked them to send him sexually explicit images using a popular online messaging application (app) or to engage in sexually explicit conduct and livestream the video to him. At times, Mayer attempted to coerce his victims by threatening to harm them or by bribing them with gift cards. When the victims complied, Mayer then used a separate app to surreptitiously record the sexually explicit images and videos without his victims’ knowledge. Mayer also downloaded images depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as 6 years of age.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Colin McDonell.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.