Registered Sex Offender from Damariscotta Sentenced to 18 Years for Possessing, Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

PORTLAND, Maine: A Damariscotta man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Trey Knof, 28, to 216 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $20,250 in restitution. Knof pleaded guilty on February 13, 2024.

According to court records, in August 2022, Knof used an internet-based mobile application to transfer an internet hyperlink containing child pornography to an online covert FBI employee. As part of its review of the material that Knof distributed, the FBI located numerous image and video files of child sexual abuse material, including victims as young as infants. In May 2023, the FBI executed a warrant for Knof’s residence, vehicle, and person, and child sexual abuse material was recovered from his mobile phone.

Knof was a registered sex offender in Maine with prior state convictions for gross sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, dissemination of sexually explicit material, and possession of sexually explicit material of a minor under 12.

The FBI investigated this case.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – "child pornography" – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are viewed. File a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.

Project Safe Childhood: 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. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.

###