VIRGINIA BEACH — A 43-year-old local man was sentenced to nearly two decades in federal prison Monday for forcing a girl to make pornographic videos for him.
Robert Lee Petty was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. The sentencing came more than five months after Petty pleaded guilty to the production of child pornography on Sept. 1, 2016, according to a Department of Justice news release.
The investigation began on March 28, 2016, when someone who knew Petty told police that over about five years he’d forced an underage girl to take videos of herself using a camera he gave her. The filming began around 2012, when the girl was 11 years old, according to documents filed in the Eastern District Court of Virginia.
Petty was very specific about the types of images and videos he wanted the girl to make, giving her a red and purple Kodak EasyShare camera to create them. He also instructed her to make the pornography on her cell phone and to text him the images and videos.
A search of Petty’s laptop revealed 72 pornographic images and movies picturing the girl, including ones where he can be seen watching her.
For making the videos, the girl was given clothing, shoes and time with her friends, court documents state.
Mayfield can be reached at [email protected].
