STATESBORO -- A former Bulloch County sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography.

Travis Tuenge, 44, of Statesboro, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and fined $1,500 by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall after pleading guilty to one count of Possession of Child Pornography, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. After completion of his prison sentence, Tuenge must serve five years of supervised release and register as a sex offender.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Travis Tuenge’s deviant behavior victimized innocent children, even as he violated the public trust as a law enforcement officer,” said Christine. “We applaud the citizen who reported Tuenge’s crime, and the law enforcement agencies for their quick action in bringing him to justice.”

According to court documents and testimony, Tuenge – who served as a Bulloch County Superior Court security officer – came under investigation after the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office received a report of Tuenge sending text messages in which he discussed victimization of children. With assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, investigators discovered images of child pornography on Tuenge’s cell phone.

“It is of utmost importance that public officials, especially sworn law enforcement officers, committing crimes be held accountable for their actions,” said Vic Reynolds, director of the GBI. “The GBI remains committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure that these type cases are aggressively investigated and prosecuted in order to maintain the faith and trust of the public.”  

The case was investigated by the GBI and the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, and was prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua S. Bearden and Marcela C. Mateo.