Michael Stevens, Secretly Filming Nude Boys, Missouri 2023

A Missouri man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for secretly filming underage boys in a hotel bathroom.

U.S. District Judge John A. Ross handed down the sentence to Michael Stevens, 43, of Oran in Scott County, Missouri, on Wednesday.

Stevens pleaded guilty in May to coercion and enticement of a minor, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

According to court documents, Stevens lured teenage boys to accompany him to concerts in the St. Louis area, where he would secretly record video of them in the bathroom of hotel rooms.

One of the victims, who was 13 at the time, was taken by Stevens on hunting and fishing trips, which began in 2019.

In April 2020, the victim’s parents contacted the Scott County Sheriff’s Office after their son disclosed that Stevens had grabbed his buttocks in a hotel after a concert and asked for pictures of his genitals.

Stevens also admitted to engaging in sexual talk with some of the boys and identified another victim, who he took to a concert and hid a camera to record the boy changing.

Stevens will be on supervised release for life after his release from prison and will have to register as a sex offender. He was ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution and forfeit a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, with a portion of the proceeds going to the restitution.

The case was investigated by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and Missouri’s State Technical Assistance Team, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuting the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006.

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