LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville father was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison Monday for coercing minors to send him pornographic images and videos via Facebook.
Anthony Bentley, 30, will spend the next 17 years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of making false statements to the FBI.
Bentley was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to his victims.
From Aug. 17-22 of 2018, Bentley "directed and coerced" a 12-year-old to send him sexually explicit images and videos through Facebook Messenger, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office news release. From January 2018 through early 2020, Bentley did the same with a 17-year-old.
In both cases, Bentley sent the minors messages describing how to take the explicit photos and videos.
Bentley used the alias "Chris Jones" to communicate with the children and used pictures of someone other than himself without their consent.
FBI investigators conducted a search warrant on March 7, 2020, at Bentley's residence in Kentucky. He told them he had no knowledge of the account belonging to Chris Jones and claimed he no longer had his old cell phone.
However investigators located the phone under the carpet of a locked safe inside his home. The phone contained evidence and photos of the 12-year-old.
Investigators discovered Bentley used the account to communicate with females, including the victims, "all hours of the day," including while his newborn baby was sick in the hospital and while he was on family vacations.
“This supposed family man posed as an attractive teen boy on Facebook to win the trust of underage girls and entice them to send him sexually explicit material—exploiting children as young as just twelve years old for his own gratification,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Making his crimes worse, Bentley distributed nude images of the minor boy whose pictures he stole to create his alias, casting suspicion on an innocent person. He then lied to the FBI when he was discovered and confronted. Unfortunately, sexual predators know that social media platforms like Facebook are a fertile hunting ground. We urge caring adults to talk to their children about staying safe online. Thanks to the efforts of the FBI and our federal prosecutors, this criminal has been held accountable and the public will be safe from him for many years.”
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker. There is no parole in the federal system.
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