Officials: Former US Air Force member from Moncks Corner sentenced to federal prison for production of child porn

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A former US Air Force member was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for the production of child pornography, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.

Evidence presented in court revealed Bryce Carter Studebaker, 25, of Moncks Corner, communicated with a 14 year old through Facebook messenger. Studebaker persuaded the minor to produce videos and images engaging in sexually explicit conduct and send the content to him.

At the time, Studebaker was an airman in the U.S. Air Force and stationed at Beale Air Force Base, according to the US Attorney’s office. The minor lived in Tennessee.

Authorities discovered the conduct after responding to a call from the minor’s mother who said her daughter had been communicating with an online predator.

United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks sentenced Studebaker to 180 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

Officials said the case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims.