NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News Navy Sailor was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing a child.
According to court documents, 27-year-old Travis James Muckelroy, of Newport News, used a social media platform to develop online relationships with children.
Documents say on various occasions in April and September of 2021, Muckelroy instructed a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl to send him nude photographs or recordings of themselves engaging in sexual acts. They said he made these requests even after one of the girls informed Muckelroy she was the victim of rape.
Documents say, Muckelroy also used the same social media platform to communicate with at least three other suspected minors. He had been an enlisted member of the Navy since 2019.
Along with a sentence of 25 years, he was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
