He promised to look after a dead friend's kids. How he did it got him 20 years in prison | Miami Herald

A Florida trucker who promised to look after a dead Broward County father's kids was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison last week because he looked after one by engaging in sexual encounters that he captured on video.

That's the production of child pornography and transmission of child pornography to which 62-year-old Kevin Scott Mitchell pleaded guilty in October. Mitchell got 20 years on each charge, to run concurrently, and supervised release for life.

According to court documents, the father of three died in 2014. Mitchell was a family friend. In 2016, that family friend used the oldest child's fear of him to force the 16-year-old into sexual encounters at a Boynton Beach hotel. The minor knew Mitchell immortalized the sex via photo and video he saved on electronic devices in his truck.

When the teenager wanted to cut off contact with Mitchell, Mitchell tried extortion. This comes from an e-mail quoted in a Homeland Security Investigations-written criminal complaint:

“You got prom and graduation coming up right off, you wouldn't want screen shots and video clips popping up everywhere amongst your friends and you know ... what I'm talking about so if you want them to go away you better call me. things were done on a bogus account so they can't come back to somebody and everything is downloaded ready to go. not a word anybody just you and me to talk you got till Friday afternoon before you go to work to get a hold of me, who knows they might even end up at your work. there's already been an offer for the whole works, but that isn't going to happen right now. you and only you need to get a hold of me go somewhere quiet and call me just you, I'm waiting.''

Instead of capitulating to Mitchell's demands, the teenager went to a school resource officer, which led to the Boynton Beach police taking up the case. Acting as the teen, Boynton Beach undercover detectives suckered Mitchell into sending pornographic images of the teenager.

Mitchell was arrested in upstate New York with pornographic videos of the minor on electronic devices.