North Versailles man gets federal prison term after being found with hundreds of child porn images

A North Versailles man was sentenced Tuesday to 40 months in a federal prison on a possession of child pornography charge after investigators said they found hundreds of illegal images on his cellphone, according to court records and prosecutors.

Travis Kuhns, 28, was ordered to spend eight years and eight months on supervised release after the prison term. He was ordered to pay $63,000 in restitution to 20 people who were impacted, according to court records.

Kuhns was a member of an online group called Yum Yum Trading where the exchange of child pornography is common, according to prosecutors. Investigators said Kuhns sent links containing child pornography to an FBI agent who was acting undercover in the group.

A search warrant revealed the images of child pornography on his cellphone, prosecutors said. Kuhns was ordered to forfeit two cellphones. He pleaded guilty in February.

Defense attorney Samir Sarna argued for a lighter sentence and said Kuhns voluntarily participated in a sex offender treatment program after his arrest.

“Mr. Kuhns understands the seriousness of his actions and admits to the possession and viewing of illegal images,” Sarna wrote in the memorandum. “Furthermore, Mr. Kuhns admits to knowing that his actions may have been illegal, but believed that his actions were anonymous.”

Prosecutors called Kuhns’ conduct serious and described the cache of images as “large and disturbing,” according to a sentencing memorandum. They argued for a stringent sentence.