PORTLAND — An Otisfield man who worked at a summer camp and a day care center was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison for engaging in sexual acts with children who were 3 and 7 years old, then photographing and videotaping the encounters and sharing them online.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Jon D. Levy also sentenced Travis Kimball, 22, to 25 years of supervised release after he has served his prison term.
Kimball pleaded guilty in January to two charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, both felonies, each punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Charges of distribution of child pornography and possession of material containing images of child pornography were dismissed Wednesday.
Prosecutors were seeking 25-year sentences for each crime to be served consecutively for a total of 50 years in prison; the defense argued for a 20-year sentence.
Kimball is a former employee at Camp O-AT-KA in Sebago and Kid Quarters Child Care Center in New Gloucester.
He had no criminal record.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Joyce said Kimball was a “predator” whose actions were “calculated and premeditated.”
Kimball had sought work in places where he would have contact with young children and then gained the trust of his employers and the children in their care, Joyce said.
Kimball produced child pornographic images using his cellphone then shared them over the internet, according to court documents.
A special agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Kimball sent an electronic message on June 7, 2022, to an undercover FBI task force officer and the two messaged back and forth.
The FBI agent asked Kimball to send a photo of himself, which he did, according to court records.
Kimball also sent the undercover agent three photos, each one of a man and a prepubescent boy engaged in sexual displays, as well as a video of a similar nature, court records said.
Through cellphone records, agents tracked down Kimball and identified him by the photos he sent of himself to the undercover agent, according to court records. Kimball later confirmed with agents that he was the man pictured in that photo.
On June 8, 2022, agents seized the cellphone Kimball was carrying and he was arrested.
On Kimball’s cellphone, agents found a video created on the morning of April 30, 2022, that shows Kimball and a 7-year-old child engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to prosecutors.
Kimball “used Minor Child 1 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating this visual depiction,” according to court records.
Investigators also discovered a video created the evening of June 2, 2022, that showed the genitals of a 3-year-old child, according to court records.
Kimball “used Minor Child 2 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating this visual depiction,” according to court records.
Those crimes “reflect the absolute worst of human nature,” Joyce said Wednesday at a U.S. District Court hearing.
Kimball “abused multiple children over a sustained period,” Joyce wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “This conduct was not a single impulsive act with a single victim — which would be horrific enough — but repeated sexual abuse of children over at least multiple months.”
Kimball’s attorney, Heather Gonzales, said Wednesday that her client was a victim of physical and verbal abuse at home. He also was a victim of child sexual assault, she said.
For that reason, he “developed a distorted arousal response,” she said.
Since his arrest, Kimball has undergone psychotherapy and was deemed by his therapist able to be rehabilitated, Gonzales said.
“Travis is fixable,” she said. “He can change.”
Due to his young age, the part of Kimball’s brain that is still developing controls such traits as impulse control, Gonzales said.
She said Kimball worked as a camp counselor not to gain access to young children but, rather, because he had gone to that camp as a boy, then became a counselor in training and, finally, a counselor.
Gonzales said Kimball was regarded by administrators as someone who had a calming effect on youngsters who struggled with their emotions.
Kimball “wrongfully believed he could control his urges,” she said.
Gonzales argued that Kimball would be vulnerable to victimization in prison.
She said a key component to rehabilitation of an incarcerated person is “hope.”
A lengthy prison sentence would diminish that prospect, she said.
Kimball said during his sentencing that he was “deeply and truly sorry” for the pain he caused his two victims.
“They trusted me,” he said, and “I failed them. I betrayed their trust.”
Kimball said he was “scared and embarrassed” about his urges and tried to keep them in check, but “I lost control.”
He said there was “nothing that could ever fix” what he did to his victims.
Kimball said he was “glad that I was arrested and held accountable for the pain I caused.”
He said he was “petrified” at the prospect of prison, but has accepted the notion that that is where he belongs.
“I don’t want to be a monster anymore,” he said.
Before imposing sentence, Levy said Kimball was a “youthful offender who is immature” and “still developing as an adult.”
Levy called him “barely more than a boy.”
But Levy said the harm Kimball inflicted on his victims who were “incapable of protecting themselves” was “severe.”
During Kimball’s supervised release, he must abide by conditions that include: undergoing sex offender treatment and submitting to periodic polygraph examinations; being barred from associating or having any communication with persons under the age of 18 except in limited circumstances approved by his probation officer; being barred from working at any job requiring contact with children; being prohibited from being at any place where children are likely to be, such as parks, schools, playgrounds, and child care facilities; being barred from viewing any pornography; undergoing mental health treatment; and being prohibited from using any computer except for work, or, without approval, any other electronic media, such as a personal digital assistant or cellular phone, with internet capability.
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