WASHINGTON – Tevon Stephens, 29, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 216 months in prison in connection with his distribution of child sexual abuse material and his sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“Stephens deliberately sought out vulnerable minors online, traded in images documenting their exploitation, and gained access to a child in person,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “My office will not relent in pursuing predators who target our community’s children, and we remain committed to protecting them.”
Stephens pleaded guilty on January 14 before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of first-degree child sexual abuse. In addition to the 216month prison sentence, Judge Walton also ordered Stephens to serve 15 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. Federal prosecutors had requested a prison term of 216 months.
According to court papers, Stephens used a dating application profile that misrepresented his age. He then communicated with an undercover officer whom he believed was the father of a young boy. During the exchange, Stephens expressed a sexual interest in children and admitted to prior sexual contact with underage girls. He also sent the undercover officer videos of child sexual abuse material.
In March 2025, law enforcement arrested Stephens at his home in Northeast Washington. Investigators recovered thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse material from one of his cell phones, including material Stephens is alleged to have personally produced depicting the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl.
Investigators also determined that Stephens had used two Instagram accounts to contact minor girls online. He later had sexual contact with one of the girls, who was 15 years old at the time, at his home.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Caroline Burrell.
It was investigated by FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
The matter was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’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, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov .
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — District of Columbia — U.S. Department of Justice press release.