David X. Sullivan, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Travis Tilley, a 41-year-old resident of Naugatuck, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport and includes a subsequent 15-year period of supervised release. Tilley was found guilty of possessing child sex abuse material while on state probation for previous child exploitation offenses.
Court documents reveal that Tilley had been convicted in 2019 in state court for risk of injury to a child, involving sexual abuse of a five-year-old victim and possession of child pornography. He was released from state custody in August 2022 and began serving a 15-year probation term.
On March 9, 2023, during an unannounced visit by state probation officers to Tilley’s residence, his laptop and flash drive were seized. Analysis showed he used prohibited software to access sexually explicit sites and encrypted communication services. Additionally, it revealed his involvement with internet chat rooms focused on child pornography and AI-generated content. The devices contained two videos depicting the sexual exploitation of prepubescent children and approximately 60 images of AI-generated child pornography.
Tilley has been detained since his arrest on March 28, 2023. He pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in federal court on March 6, 2025.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Connecticut Court Support Services Division – Adult Probation Services and the Westport Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Cummings prosecuted the case with support from the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Waterbury.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood Initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
