DAYTON — A Troy man, who was already a registered sex offender from a previous crime, was sentenced in federal court to serve 29 years in prison for soliciting and producing child pornography from teenage boys on social media.

Brendan J. Eardly, 50, of Troy, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 348 months, or 29 years, in prison for producing child pornography by enticing juvenile males to send him sexually explicit videos and images via social media.

According to court documents, between October 2015 and August 2018, Eardly created multiple social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Kik Messenger, and he reportedly communicated with more than 60 juveniles worldwide.

Eardly told some of the minors that he could be their “gay mentor,” someone whom they could talk to about sex, and someone who could provide them advice about sex. The defendant sent and requested nude and sexually explicit images to and from the minors, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

One of the victims was a 13-year-old male in Utah, to whom Eardly sent videos and images of himself. According to the Department of Justice, Eardly also purchased gifts for the boy and coerced him into sending at least eight images and two videos of child pornography.

Eardly similarly victimized teenage males in Ohio, Colorado, Nevada, California, and New York. He sometimes sent the child pornography obtained from one victim to other victims with whom he was communicating.

At the time of his initial offense, Eardly was required to register as a sex offender as the result of a prior sex conviction in Miami County. In 2004, Eardly was convicted of two counts of second-degree felony pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and spent approximately seven years in prison.