Former gym and tanning salon owner sentenced for recording nude teen

STATESBORO, Ga. (TCN) -- A 43-year-old former gym and tanning business owner will spend decades in federal prison for sexually exploiting and recording explicit content of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said Walter Drew received a sentence on Sept. 18 of 327 months, or 27 1/4 years, in federal prison for sexual exploitation. Drew will also have to register as a sex offender, pay a $1,500 fine, pay $800 in special assessments, and serve 20 years of supervised release.

According to prosecutors, Drew used his phone to create photos and videos of children, including one of a 13-year-old girl "drying off nude with a towel in a bathroom of his home." The defendant reportedly took a screenshot from the video showing the girl’s breasts and genitals and uploaded it to his iCloud account. The 13-year-old victim was reportedly a friend of Drew’s children.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Drew also recorded the victim in different stages of undress in a private tanning bed room at Legacy Performance Center, the gym he used to own that is now closed. Drew reportedly saved "sexually exploitive" screenshots from the video and put them on his iCloud account.

According to prosecutors, Drew recorded at least six other teenage children in the case and faces similar state charges out of Toombs County, as well as charges for separate conduct at a previous home in White County.

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