Winter Haven man sentenced to 20 years in prison for possession of child solicitation material

A Florida man, Steven Andrew Gunn, 31, of Winter Haven, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his crimes against minors. U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber imposed the sentence after Gunn pleaded guilty in March to 20 years in federal prison for enticing a minor to perform sex acts and possession of child abuse material. The news, released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, details a harrowing account of Gunn’s involvement in sexual conversations with an 11-year-old via his cellphone between September and October 2020, and similar interactions with another minor, aged 14.

Gunn’s downfall reached a climax when police, aided by a federal search warrant, examined the contents of his cell phone. The investigation revealed the ugly truth that Gunn had not only been having illicit contact with one child, but had also engaged in a horrific pattern of soliciting child abuse material from multiple girls, ranging in age from 8 to 13. His past is equally troubling, marred by a 2012 conviction for child molestation for online misconduct with a minor. Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by the Department of Justice, played a critical role in bringing Gunn’s latest transgressions to light.

As a result of his actions, Steven Gunn will also be required to remain under supervision for the rest of his life after his incarceration and register as a sex offender, which demonstrates the seriousness of his crimes and the intent of the justice system to protect the community from future harm. In a disturbing confession during an interview with authorities, Gunn admitted to using the Snapchat platform to prey on these young girls. This information underscores a very real, dark network of exploitation that Project Safe Childhood, since its founding in May 2006, has been working to dismantle.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Claire Favorit and Ross Roberts led the prosecution that resulted in a resolution of Gunn’s prison sentence and subsequent lifelong supervision. The Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment continues as it continues to mobilize the federal, state, and local resources necessary to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and most importantly, to assist in the recovery and support of the victims caught up in these heinous acts.