Evergreen Reporter

U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Steven Andrew Gunn, 31, of Winter Haven, to 20 years in federal prison for enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and possession of child sexual abuse material. The court also mandated a lifetime of supervised release and registration as a sex offender. Gunn pled guilty on March 28, 2024.

According to court documents, between September 2020 and October 2020, Gunn used his cell phone to engage in sexually explicit online conversations with an 11-year-old child. During these conversations, Gunn discussed his desire to engage in sexual activity with the child and sent videos of himself masturbating. Investigators obtained a federal search warrant for Gunn’s cell phone and discovered that he was also having sexually explicit online conversations with another 14-year-old child. During an interview with law enforcement, Gunn admitted that he had used Snapchat to solicit child sexual abuse material from multiple girls ranging between eight and thirteen years old.

Court records indicate that Gunn had been previously convicted of child abuse in 2012 when he had sexually explicit conversations with another minor on the internet.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation—Orlando Resident Agency and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin Claire Favorit and Ross Roberts.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood coordinates federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children sexually while identifying and rescuing victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.