By WMBD TV
MCLEAN COUNTY – In two different cases, two men were sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty in Peoria’s federal court to charges related to sexually exploiting minors.
Triston Michael Roberts, 22, of Towanda, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Jonathan Hawley after pleading guilty to charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. In addition, he will be on supervised release, the federal version of probation, for 10 years, and he must register as a sex offender.
Also sentenced was Jerry Braddy, 45, of Tiptonville, Tenn. Hawley imposed a 10-year prison term for him with five years of supervised release on the charge of attempted enticement of a minor.
Like Roberts, he must register as a sex offender. Both men were sentenced on Feb. 4 in U.S. District Court in Peoria.
The case against Roberts
According to court records, prosecutors allege that between April 2023 and February 2024, Roberts found adults online who wanted to exchange in sexual activity with minors in return for money.
He made videos of that activity and then offered money in return for specific acts, according to court records. He also shared illicit images of himself with a preteen minor and that girl, at his request, sent him sexually explicit images back.
When officers raided his house in Towanda, a small village in the middle of McLean County, they found several images on his phone, according to court records. Roberts was arrested in February 2024 and pleaded in September 2024. He has been in custody of the U.S. marshals since his arrest.
The case against Braddy
Braddy was accused of communicating online with what he thought was the stepfather of a 9-year-old child. The communications occurred between June 2 and June 12, 2024, according to court records.
After the conversations, Brady agreed to leave his home in Tiptonville, a small city in the northwest corner of Tennessee, to meet the child and the stepfather in Bloomington. The purpose, court records state, was to engage in sexual activity with the child.
Instead, he was met by federal law enforcement agents and deputies from the McLean County Sherriff’s Office. Braddy was charged later that month and wound up pleading guilty in August 2024.
He, too, has been in the custody of the U.S. marshals since his arrest.
“Preventing the exploitation of children is a top priority for our office,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore. “Predators like the defendant inflict long-lasting trauma on child victims. We are committed to seeking justice in these cases and are grateful to our federal and local law enforcement partners for their dedicated work in investigating these crimes.”
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