LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for enticing children to get sexually explicit material, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Anthony Michael Bentley, 30, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of making false statements to the FBI. Bentley, who is a father, also has to pay $10,000 in restitution to the minor victims.
According to court documents, Bentley coerced a 12-year-old to send him sexually explicit images and videos on Facebook. Bentley also coerced a 17-year-old to send him sexually explicit videos. Bentley coached the children on how to take photos and videos.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Bentley used an alias to hide his identity and used photos of a young man he found online without his consent. Bentley sent nude images of minors to victims and claimed they were himself.
FBI investigators executed a search warrant on March 7, 2020, but Bentley told officials he didn't know about the alias account and didn't have his old cell phone. Investigators found the old cell phone under the carpet of a locked safe inside Bentley's home.Â
Investigators said Bentley was using the fake Facebook account to communicate with females all hours of the day, including while his newborn child 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," Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a news release. "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."
Myers said adults should talk to their children about staying safe online.
"Unfortunately, sexual predators know that social media platforms like Facebook are a fertile hunting ground," Myers said.
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