A Sedgwick man is facing up to 60 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing and sharing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine announced on Friday.

Travis Bessey, 29, pleaded guilty on Friday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to two counts of producing child sexual abuse material.

In court records, federal prosecutors alleged that in May 2021, Bessey participated in a chat room on the application Kik dedicated to the sharing of child pornography.

A Department of Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI) special agent monitoring the Kik chat room observed a user, who was later identified as Bessey, sharing images of an adult man sexually abusing young children with other users in the chat room.

Federal investigators and the Maine State Police executed a search warrant at Bessey’s Sedgwick residence, and images of Bessey sexually abusing children were recovered from his phone.

During the investigation, Bessey admitted to investigators that he had sent and received child sexual abuse material in the Kik chat room.

Bessey faces from 15 up to 30 years in prison on each of the two counts, a fine up to $250,000 and mandatory restitution to the victims.

His sentence is also set to be followed by a minimum of five years of supervised release.