LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A former nanny from Burbank was sentenced today to 30 years behind bars for producing child pornography using at least four children who had been placed under his care, most of whom were 8 and 9 years old.
U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. also placed 35-year-old Travis Elconin on supervised release for the rest of his life after he completes his prison sentence.
Elconin pleaded guilty in March in Los Angeles federal court to a two- count criminal information charging him with production of child pornography.
Elconin used his position as a nanny to exploit and abuse the children in his care, holding himself out as the ``perfect caretaker,'' which induced numerous families -- including his friends -- to hire him, according to court documents.
Elconin placed advertisements on websites, one of which stated, ``I know how important it is as a parent to know that your children are safe when you're not around. That would by my top priority,'' according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Between August 2016 and November 2018, Elconin ingratiated himself with several families, only to sexually abuse their minor children and make sexually explicit videos of his crimes with his iPhone 8, prosecutors said.
In his plea agreement, Elconin admitted to producing child pornography with four children placed under his care. Since his arrest in January, the government has identified eight victims directly connected to him, prosecutors said.
In November 2018, German law enforcement contacted the FBI about Elconin, who had exchanged more than 10,000 messages via encrypted chatting programs and the dark web over the previous two years with suspected child sex abusers in Germany. Those messages discussed child sex abuse and the exchange of such images. The FBI also obtained warrants and searched his digital devices.
The case was investigated by the FBI. Germany's Bundeskriminalamt Police and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office provided assistance in this matter.