DES MOINES, Iowa — A former Des Moines photographer accused of using hidden cameras to take nude photos and videos of minors was sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison on Wednesday.

According to court documents, 62-year-old Jeffrey Gray secretly recorded videos and took photos of minors at his local photography studio, Wicked Imagery, in Des Moines from 2005 to 2016. Wicked Imagery specialized in adult boudoir photography and children’s dance photos.

In November 2023 investigators located a hard drive in Gray’s home that they say contained sexual abuse material. Authorities said at the time that at least 15 victims were identified.

Several months later, in February 2024, Gray was arrested on multiple federal charges, including child pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor.

The U.S. State’s Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Iowa announced in September that Gray had taken a plea deal where he would plead guilty to one count of Sexual Exploitation and Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child and one count of Possession of Child Pornography in exchange for having the remaining six charges dropped.

On Wednesday a U.S. District Judge accepted the plea deal and sentenced Gray to the maximum prison sentence for both charges — 30 years for the sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child charge and 20 years for the possession of child pornography charge. However, Gray will only serve a maximum of 30 years in prison as the judge ordered the sentences be served concurrently.

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