EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A Belleville, Illinois, man was sentenced last week in federal court for producing and distributing sexually-explicit images of children.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said Brandon Lepper, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of distribution of child pornography.

“The defendant hid his cell phone and set it up to record in a bathroom he knew a minor would be using to undress in for his own sick pleasure, but then also proceeded to violate and humiliate his victim further by sending their images out into the hands of other pedophiles,” U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe said.

According to court documents, FBI agents interviewed Lepper in April 2021 for distributing child sexual abuse material on social media. While searching Lepper’s phone, investigators found illicit material on the device’s camera roll, in an online folder drive, and in chats sent from the phone.

Agents later discovered Lepper took pictures of an unsuspecting child while they were undressing, and distributed those images to others. Investigators said Lepper personally knew the child.

Lepper’s collection of sexually-explicit material included nearly 3,000 images.

A U.S. District Court judge sentenced to Lepper to 262 months in federal prison on exploitation and 240 months on the distribution count. Both sentences will run concurrently. Lepper was ordered to pay $27,500 in restitution, and must serve 15 years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.