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Virginia Beach man sentenced to 82 years in prison for repeatedly sexually abusing 4 children

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Posted at 10:16 AM, May 01, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-01 10:16:07-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A Virginia Beach man will serve 82 years in prison, well above the recommended sentence, for repeatedly sexually abusing four children he knew.

According to court documents, 32-year-old Steven Anthony Ray was sentenced on two counts of raping a victim under age 13, two counts of forcible sodomy of a victim under age 13 and four counts of producing child pornography.

Ray's abuse of the four victims took place between September 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019. The children were all able to provide detailed accounts of the abuse Ray inflicted on them.

Ray also took photos of the children nude and of the sexual acts he forced upon them. Thousands of images of child pornography, including hundreds of photos of Ray abusing the victims, were found in a hidden folder on Ray's phone.

In an interview with police, Ray denied the abuse and provided a false passcode to his phone.

The sentence of 82 years was significantly greater than the Virginia State Sentencing Guidelines' recommendation, which called for a high-end of 34 years to serve.