Registered sex offender sentenced to 29 years in prison for soliciting and producing child pornography from teenage boys on social media

 DAYTON, Ohio – Brendan J. Eardly, 50, of Troy, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 348 months in prison for producing child pornography by enticing juvenile males to send him sexually explicit videos and images via social media.

According to court documents, between October 2015 and August 2018, Eardly created multiple social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Kik Messenger and communicated with more than 60 juveniles worldwide.

Eardly told some of the minors that he could be their “gay mentor,” someone whom they could talk to about sex, and someone who could provide them advice about sex. The defendant sent and requested nude and sexually explicit images to and from the minors.

For example, Eardly sent videos and images of himself to a 13-year-old male in Utah. Eardly purchased gifts for the boy and coerced him into sending at least 8 images and two videos of child pornography.

Eardly similarly victimized teenage males in Ohio, Colorado, Nevada, California and New York. He sometimes sent the child pornography obtained from one victim to other victims with whom he was communicating.

At the time of his instant offense, Eardly was required to register as a sex offender as the result of a prior sex conviction in Miami County.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Troy Police Chief Charles Phelps; and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) announced the sentence imposed Friday evening by U.S. District Court Judge Walter H. Rice. Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Laura I. Clemmens is representing the United States in this case.