A Lake County registered sex offender has been accused of using a 13-year-old to produce a child sex abuse video.
Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann has announced the filing of a criminal complaint charging 60-year-old Perry Cleothas Gentry of Sorrento, with using a minor child to produce a video that depicted sexually explicit conduct. Gentry faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 25 years, and up to 50 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release. Gentry is a registered sex offender, having been convicted of a prior child sex offense in 1991.
According to court documents, Gentry was arrested on May 5, 2021, by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for violating the requirements of his sex offender registration. A subsequent search of his cellphone revealed that he had created a video recording using an internal camera security system in his home. This video depicts Gentry exposing the genitalia of a 13-year-old boy in view of a camera located in Gentry’s bedroom that is aimed at his bed. After creating the video, Gentry uploaded a copy to his cellphone. Agents with the Department of Homeland Security were subsequently able to identify the child.
A complaint is merely a charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.       Â
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Any person who was, or knows of someone who may have been, a possible child victim is urged to contact HSI at 1-866-DHS-2423 or the online tip form.
