Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Montgomery, Ala. – Today, Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson announced the sentencing of a member of the U.S. Army serving in Alabama for producing child sexual abuse material. On November 13, 2025, a federal judge ordered 36-year-old Sean Jeffery Childers, originally from Quincy, Florida, to serve 180 months in prison. The judge also ordered that Childers remain on supervised release for five years following his prison term and pay $3,000 in restitution to the victim in the case. Childers will also be required to register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to Childers’ plea agreement and other court records, in March 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) discovered the online upload of child sexual abuse materials in Alabama and notified the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). ALEA investigated and determined that the materials were being uploaded from a personal device connected to an individual serving in the U.S. Army and notified the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The investigation ultimately identified Childers as the source of the uploads.

A search warrant was executed at Childers’ residence in Opp, Alabama, where agents examined multiple electronic devices. Forensic analysis revealed numerous images of child sexual abuse materials stored on those devices. In his plea agreement, Childers admits to creating a video including a 12-year-old minor.

In 2024, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama charged Childers with producing child sexual abuse material. Childers pleaded guilty to that charge on August 6, 2025.

The Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) investigated this case, with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Covington County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Assistant United States Attorney Tara S. Ratz from the Middle District of Alabama and Acting Deputy Chief Kyle Reynolds from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.