Fort Myers man sentenced to 3 years in prison for child exploitation

On Thursday morning, a Fort Myers man was sentenced to three years in prison for child exploitation.

According to the State Attorney’s Office, Bryan Michael Peterson, 39, was sentenced to three years for possession of child pornography and video voyeurism, both third-degree felonies, followed by 10 years of sex offender probation for video voyeurism and promoting a sexual performance by a child, both second-degree felonies.

Probation will begin once Peterson is released from prison.

The case started in February 2022, when the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Child pornography was discovered by Adobe on their Revel Lightroom image editing application. The account was linked to Peterson.

The Fort Myers Police Department seized multiple electronic devices under a search warrant. Forensic analysis found that Peterson was secretly recording two child victims and then editing the images to include sexually explicit material. Peterson was later arrested.

Peterson pled open to the court, giving up his right to a jury trial. (Every defendant can plea straight to the court for sentencing. This is not a plea agreement.)

Peterson was ordered to have no contact with the victims. He must undergo a substance
abuse evaluation and will not be allowed to be in possession of or consume alcohol or illegal drugs. He was also ordered to have GPS electronic monitoring during probation and pay court costs, cost of prosecution, and fines.