BANGOR, Maine — A local man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to 50 years in federal prison for photographing the sexual abuse of three Maine girls, all under the age of 9, and posting the pictures on a website.
Timothy S. Klimas, 27, of Bangor pleaded guilty in September to three counts of production of pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography.
In imposing the sentence, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock called Klimas’ conduct “beyond evil.”
“These images are a crime against innocence,” the judge told Klimas. “These images are a crime against childhood. These images are a crime against a basic human moral code.”
Klimas apologized to the victims and their families but also said that “he never forced them to do anything.”
“I was supposed to be a trusted figure in the girls’ lives and I betrayed that trust,” Klimas told Woodcock.
Klimas told the judge that his abuse of the oldest victim began when she was 2 and went on for six years.
He asked the judge to sentence him to prison for 30 years at a facility where he would receive treatment.
The parents of the three victims attended the sentencing but did not address the judge. They submitted written victim impact statements that are not public documents.
Klimas produced the images of one girl, who is the daughter of a friend, in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in Bangor and posted them to a website on which child pornography is exchanged in the summer of 2014, according to the prosecution version of events to which he pleaded guilty. He produced the images of the two other girls, who are relatives, in July 2014 in Newport and posted those images the same month.
The children were 3, 6 and 8 when Klimas was arrested in August 2014. He filmed his sexual abuse of the children with a digital camera and his cellphone, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Klimas has been held without bail since his arrest.
He faced between 15 years and up to life in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the recommended sentence was 110 years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Lowell recommended the judge sentence Klimas to 70 years in prison. Federal Defense Attorney James Nixon urged Woodcock to sentence Klimas to 30 years behind bars.
The investigation was conducted jointly by the FBI and the Bangor and Newport police departments, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
To reach a sexual assault advocate, call the Statewide Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Line at 800-871-7741, TTY 888-458-5599. This free and confidential 24-hour service is accessible from anywhere in Maine. Calls are automatically routed to the closest sexual violence service provider.