Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis sentenced Stephen Michael Gayer, age 37, of Perry Hall, Maryland, today to 25 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Gayer has remained in custody since his arrest on federal charges on October 3, 2007.

"Taking pictures of a child engaged in sexual conduct is a federal crime," said United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. "Thanks to the coordinated work of state and federal authorities, Stephen Gayer will remain in prison for the next 25 years, where he no longer will be able to abuse children."

According to the statement of facts presented to the court as part of his guilty plea, in March 2006, Gayer induced "KS," a minor female of fifteen years of age, who was in Gayer's care, to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that Gayer could take pictures of that conduct. Gayer then saved the digital pictures on a media card and uploaded them onto his computer.

On May 6, 2006, Gayer had two minor female children, both under the age of twelve,"LW" and "AW," staying at his home. That night, while they were sleeping, Gayer took down their pajama pants and took pictures of the girls' genitalia, which he had caused to be lasciviously exposed.

On August 6, 2004, Gayer had two minor females, "MB" and "MP," who were both under the age of twelve, staying at his home. While the girls were at his home, Gayer gave them alcohol to drink, then instructed them to get undressed and engage in sexually explicit conduct, which he photographed with a digital camera. During the investigation, law enforcement agents discovered a safe in which Gayer had placed several of the pictures that he took of "MB" and "MP."

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Details about Maryland's program are available at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.htmlhttp://.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Baltimore County Police Department for their investigative work and expressed appreciation to Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and his office for alerting federal authorities about the violations and coordinating the prosecution of the case. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tonya Kelly Kowitz and Bonnie S. Greenberg, who prosecuted the case.