Charlottesville Bodybuilding Coach Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Prison on Child Exploitation Charges

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A Charlottsville-based, virtual bodybuilding coach, who sexually exploited at least six minors over the course of six years, was sentenced yesterday to 254 months in federal prison.

Elliott Atwell, 35, pled guilty in June 2024 to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography.

"This defendant targeted young people who put their trust in him as a coach and mentor and violated that trust to satisfy his own desires," Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee said today. "I am grateful to the men and women of the FBI who tirelessly investigated this case and brought some semblance of justice to the victims. Cases like these remind us how vulnerable our young people are and how vigilant we must be to protect them from manipulative online predators."

"FBI Richmond is unwavering in its commitment to seeking justice for victims of child exploitation. Today's guilty verdict is the culmination of years of relentless work and dedication by our agents and analysts," Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI Richmond Division said today. "Together with our partners, the FBI will continue protecting our children by removing harmful predators from our communities."

According to court documents, between December 2013 and April 2020, Atwell portrayed himself as a virtual bodybuilding coach for high-school bodybuilders. He approached minors online to purportedly mentor them and quickly transitioned their conversations and alleged bodybuilding training to the topics of sex and sexuality. Under the guise of coaching, Atwell would encourage the minors to send nude photographs and videos of themselves. Atwell further manipulated at least six minors to record themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct and then send those recordings to him.

In efforts to gain the victims' trust and willingness to participate, Atwell sent them gifts, including a digital camera, and other sexual-related items. Atwell then gave detailed instructions on what sexual activities he wanted the minors to perform and capture on video.

In addition, the FBI searched Atwell's iCloud account, which contained over 300 images and video files depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including images of prepubescent boys engaged in sex acts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Smith and Trial Attorney Jessica Urban of the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.