Shelton Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation Offense

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BURNEST GEYER, JR., 32, of Shelton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 150 months of imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release for engaging in a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of minors, including attempting to produce child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, law enforcement began investigating Geyer after learning he had told an individual that he possessed child pornography videos, and that he had communicated with a second individual through Telegram, an encrypted phone messaging application, about his child pornography collection. During a Telegram communication in July 2024, Geyer shared his laptop screen and showed pictures and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.

Geyer was arrested on October 8, 2024. On that date, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of his residence and seized his iPhone and other items. Analysis of the Telegram app on the iPhone revealed more than 3,000 images and videos depicting child pornography, including the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers.

The investigation further revealed that Geyer engaged in numerous conversations with others on Telegram and WhatsApp, including more than 50 adult content creators, regarding his interest in the sexual abuse of minors. Geyer offered to pay the content creators to sexually exploit their children over video calls with him. In certain conversations, Geyer said he had engaged in the sexual abuse of minors.

On July 28, 2025, Geyer pleaded guilty to receipt and distribution of child pornography. He has been detained since August 5, 2025, when his bond was revoked.

This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of the Watertown, Bridgeport, Shelton, and Westport Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Gordon.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit https://www.cybertipline.com.