SHELTON – A Shelton resident who repeatedly asked online sex workers to abuse their children on camera while he watched was sentenced to 12.5 years in federal prison Thursday (Dec. 18)

Burnest Geyer, Jr. contacted more than 50 “online adult content creators” asking if they had children and whether they were into child pornography, according to federal prosecutors. He offered to pay them to perform sexual acts with their children.

The evidence recovered by investigators showed Geyer sent “hundreds of thousands” of messages on social media apps discussing child pornography or abusing kids.

He repeatedly exchanged messages where he talked about raping children, including babies, according to a government sentencing memo. 

In those same conversations, according to federal prosecutors, Geyer said he had met and performed sex acts with teen boys he met on Omegle, a social media site notorious for letting online sexual predators go unchecked, according to The New York Times. Omegle shut down in 2023.

An online sex worker from Connecticut secretly recorded an online video conversation Geyer had with her during which he showed child pornography to her. She handed the evidence over to police, who eventually got search warrants and recovered more than 3,000 child pornography images and videos from his devices. Click here to read a press release.

Geyer was arrested Oct. 8, 2024, and pleaded guilty in July 2025 to receipt and distribution of child pornography.

In federal criminal cases, both the prosecution and the defense can submit sentencing memos to the court. The documents suggest how much time a defendant should receive.

Prosecutors asked that Geyer be sent to prison for 20 years, followed by lifetime parole.

The prosecutors’ memo noted that after pleading guilty in July, Geyer was allegedly using the Internet to view pornography and to attempt to meet random people for sex. 

The government noted the actions were not illegal, but expressed concern over the frequency and questioned whether it was compulsive behavior. Geyer had been free pending his sentencing, but a judge, citing his behavior, ordered him detained after a hearing in August.

Geyer’s sentencing memo – that is, the memo submitted to the court by the defense lawyer –   was sealed from public view. However, a second document submitted by the defense was not sealed.

In it, Geyer’s lawyer, Katrina Ross, argued Geyer should receive no more than 10 years in prison, followed by at least five years of supervised release.

Ross said that while Geyer’s conversations were inappropriate and offensive, they were only conversations. He was not charged with sexually assaulting children.

“There is no substantiation, documentation, or verification that anything occurred other

than conversations regarding sexual abuse of minors,” Ross wrote. “The Government is drawing unsubstantiated conclusions in its Memorandum that Mr. Geyer “likely engaged in sexually explicit conduct with multiple minors.”

Ross wrote that Geyer admitted to sharing and possessing child pornography, and that he is seeking treatment. Ross, citing a psychologist’s assessment, noted that the Geyer “online” wasn’t the same as the Geyer in the real world. She refers to his online behavior as that of an online persona.

However, the government’s sentencing memo, submitted by U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan and U.S. Assistant Attorney Daniel Gordon, said that Geyer poses a clear threat to the community.

“Geyer is a charismatic, intelligent, manipulative, and highly dangerous individual who distributed child pornography, (and) repeatedly glorified rape in conversations with others . . .,” they wrote. “The evidence also suggests that he likely engaged in sexually explicit conduct with multiple minors.”

Prosecutors said Geyer has not accepted responsibility for his crime.

“Although he pled guilty, Geyer continues to minimize his conduct and appears unwilling to acknowledge his underlying issues, including his fascination with sexually assaulting children, demonstrating that he is not ready to begin any sort of rehabilitative process,” the prosecutors concluded.

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