If you or someone you know needs resources or support related to sexual violence, contact the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s 24/7 hotline at 800-871-7741.
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Portland man to 16 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child and drug trafficking.
Sebastian Demers, 32, pleaded guilty in December 2022 and was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years on the child exploitation count and one year on the drug count.
After befriending the victim, a 14-year-old boy, online through Grindr and Snapchat, Demers, started engaging in illicit sexual contact with the victim, according to court records.
In one encounter recorded in court documents, Demers, who was 29 told the boy’s parents he was 19 and said the victim, who was 15 at the time, had lied about his age, claiming to be 18. Demers continued to see the victim even after the parents obtained a protection order against him, pressuring the victim with threats to hurt the child’s family if he refused.
Demers took several sexually explicit photos and videos of the child, found later by investigators on Demers’ phone. He also plied the victim with alcohol and drugs, according to court records. In April 2022, federal agents searched Demers’ home and found cocaine and other evidence of drug trafficking.
The federal judge ordered Demers’ sentences served consecutively followed by 10 years of supervised release. Demers was also ordered to pay $15,843.27 in restitution to the victim and his victim’s family.
