Michael Peyton Gunn, 36, of Evans, has been found guilty of all nine charges following a four-day trial, according to David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
The guilty verdict was returned just after 5 p.m. Nov. 18. As a result, Gunn faces a minimum of 15 years in federal prison. Three of the nine charges against him carry a statutory penalty of up to life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The child exploitation offenses Gunn committed are absolutely horrific, going far beyond the initial, reprehensible child pornography offenses that alerted the FBI to his activities,” said Estes. “The jurors are holding Michael Gunn accountable for his monstrous crimes and providing a path to healing for his victim.”
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the minor victim in the case testified in court that Gunn, through rewards, fear, threats of harm and intimidation, manipulated the victim to participate in illegal sexual abuse as young as age 7, through sexual exploitation at age 13, as it steadily progressed from production of child pornography to participation in commercial sex trafficking.
“Michael Gunn committed unspeakable crimes against a vulnerable child and no sentence for him will wipe away the trauma he has caused the victim,” said Chris Macrae, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “However, thanks to the dedicated work from our agents who aggressively pursue these heinous criminals, Gunn will be removed from our streets where he will no longer be able to harm innocent children.”
Gunn’s wife, Amanda Gunn, 34, of Augusta also faces charges of sex trafficking conspiracy and obstruction of a child sex trafficking investigation. She pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and is currently awaiting sentencing.
Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678 or https://report.cybertip.org/.
