A Michigan man will serve a 30-year prison sentence after he pled guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He originally faced seven counts, however four counts were dismissed as part of his plea deal. In addition to the 30-year sentence he will also have 7 years of supervised release, pay an undetermined amount of restitution and register as a sex offender.
Scott Elam, 43-years-old from the western part of the State in Caledonia admitted to exploiting 11 girls by asking for sexually explicit pictures or videos, or having sex, in exchange for alcohol, marijuana, and vape pens.
In one count unsealed in court Elam said he used a Blink camera to record himself sexually abusing a minor in April of 2024. He then “received, saved, reproduced, and possessed” the photos on a cell phone.
In the second count Elam admitted that he directed a second minor to record herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct in May of 2024. The video showed explicit regions of the minors body. Those videos were sent via Snapchat and from there he received, saved, reproduced, and possessed” the photos on a cell phone.
In the final count he pled guilty to he admitted he directed another minor victim to record herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct and send it to him. She did so in May of 2024 and again, Elam “received, saved, reproduced, and possessed” the photos on a cell phone.
One victim told the Kent County Sheriffs Detective working the case that Elam would sell to “everyone” at different high schools in the area in exchange for nude photos or videos.
She also told the Detective that she had sex with Elam in exchange for free alcohol. He told her he had videos of the two together and sent her 13 clips in total of around 10-11 seconds each that were recorded on a hidden Blink camera in his bedroom.
“Mr. Elam is a sexual predator who took terrible advantage of numerous girls,” said U.S. Attorney VerHey. “This lengthy sentence sends a message about the seriousness of the conduct and the need to protect society from Elam and those like him. My office will continue to prosecute these offenders with all the resources we have.”
“The sentencing of Scott Elam, a convicted predator, delivers the full weight of justice for the horrific crimes he committed against children,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Mr. Elam’s predatory actions are reprehensible and should never be tolerated. The FBI in Michigan will remain relentless in pursuing bad actors who exploit the most vulnerable among us. I want to thank the dedicated men and women of our FBI Grand Rapids Resident Agency, the West Michigan-based Child Exploitation Task Force (WEBCHEX), the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan, for their outstanding work and successful prosecution. Our community in Michigan, along with the American public should know the FBI will never waver in our mission to protect children and hold predators fully accountable for their actions.”
