A California nanny promised children would be 'safe' in his care. He instead used them in porn videos, authorities say

A former California nanny will serve 30 years in federal prison for filming child pornography with at least five victims under his care, authorities said Monday.

Travis Elconin convinced families and friends to hire him as a caretaker, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California said in a press release, then sexually abused their children. The 35-year-old Burbank resident also advertised his nanny services online, according to court documents detailed in the release.

“I know how important it is as a parent to know that your children are safe when you’re not around," Elconin said in his advertising, according to court documents. "That would be my top priority.”

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Elconin made sexually explicit videos of the children ⁠– most of whom were 8 and 9 years old ⁠– between August 2016 and November 2018 with his iPhone 8, the release said. He admitted to producing pornography with four children he babysat, the release said, but authorities allegedly identified eight total victims.

His attorney, Jonathan Lynn, said Elconin pleaded guilty early in the case after being arrested in January.

"At his sentencing hearing, he apologized to the victims in this case for the pain he caused," Lynn said in an emailed statement. "He admitted he had a problem and requested that the court help him obtain any possible treatment available while serving his sentence.”

After 30 years in prison, Elconin will be on supervised release for the rest of his life, U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. ruled Monday.

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Federal authorities first became aware of Elconin's activities in November 2018, when German law enforcement contacted the FBI about his encrypted messages with suspected child sex abusers in Germany. The more than 10,000 messages included images of child sex abuse and prompted the FBI to investigate.

In 2018 alone, more than 18.4 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation were received by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California nanny sentenced to 30 years in prison for making child porn