Travis Bessey, Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material, Maine 2021

BANGOR, Maine – A Sedgwick man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material.

Travis Bessey, 30, was sentenced on May XX, 2023 in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Bessey was charged with producing child sexual abuse material, an offense under federal law.

According to court records, in May 2021, Bessey participated in a Kik chat room dedicated to the distribution of child sexual abuse material.

A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent monitoring the chat observed Bessey share images of a man sexually abusing young children.

Bessey admitted to sending and receiving child sexual abuse material in the Kik group. Images of Bessey sexually abusing children were later recovered from his phone.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Bessey to 60 years in prison and supervised release for life. He was also ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to each of his two victims.

Bessey’s case was investigated by the Maine State Police and HSI, with assistance from the Bangor Police Department.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678.

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

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