Navy sailor posed as a 13-year-old to solicit explicit photos and video. A federal judge sentenced him to 25 years.

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NORFOLK, Va. – An investigation led by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. field office landed a Norfolk sailor in federal prison for 25 years followed by a lifetime of supervised release for sexually abusing a child.

According to the HSI investigation, Travis James Muckelroy, 27, used a social media platform to develop online relationships with children. On various occasions in April and September of 2021, Muckelroy instructed a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl to send him nude photographs or recordings of themselves engaging in sexual acts.

Muckelroy made these requests even after one of the girls informed him that she was the victim of rape. In addition to these young girls, Muckelroy used the same social media platform to communicate with at least three other suspected minors.

“Mr. Muckelroy’s actions were beyond reprehensible, and the barbarity of his crimes is reflected in the severity of his sentence” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Brenda Nevano of HSI’s Washington, D.C. field office. “HSI Washington, D.C., will continue to work tirelessly to hold accountable anyone who attempts to bring harm to the citizens we have sworn to protect.”

At the time of his arrest, Muckelroy was an active-duty sailor assigned to the U.S.S Gerald R. Ford docked at U.S. Naval Station, Norfolk. Muckelroy had been serving as an aviation ordinance airman; he enlisted in the Navy in 2019.

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