A rock musician hailing from Michigan was jailed after being found guilty of using a young child to create child abuse videos. Evan Mercer, the keyboardist for the rising band Mac Saturn, was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Friday after admitting to the crime.

After the 31-year-old was arrested in January 2024, the gut-wrenching case was brought to light just before the emerging rock band were set to embark on a national tour with their debut album. According to the US Attorney's Office in Michigan, the star “chatted with multiple minors online and recorded images of them nude and in sexually explicit positions.” They alleged that he contacted one girl as young as seven years old and recorded a video “of her exposing herself to a web camera.”

"This is not who I am as a person," Mercer said while he spoke for several minutes on Thursday, May 8 in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

He claimed that his intention was not to inflict damage to others and reiterated how "deeply sorry I am for what I've done," before pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child.

Mercer was indicted in February 2024 on one count each of exploitation, which occurred in September 2023, and possession of child abuse imagery, plus three counts of enticement of a minor. Prosecutors dismissed the other four counts at sentencing.

While Federal prosecutors wanted the maximum 30-year prison sentence, his attorney, Michael Rataj, advocated for 15 years.

Mercer is also said to have solicited nude images from “at least two other minors.” Details about their ages were not disclosed.

His ex-girlfriend contacted Ferndale Police in September 2023 when she found screenshots of him allegedly masturbating with children via an online video chat website, Omegle.

The FBI Detroit, Oakland County Division, took over the investigation and seized his electronic devices and uncovered the horrific recordings.

Court documents said Mercer admitted to the sickening crimes during questioning by police in September 2023.

The document via the MailOnline reads: “Mercer advised the screenshots were of him on an anonymous website Omegle, masturbating with underage people.

“Mercer explained that in approximately early 2021, Mercer was staying in Dexter, Michigan at a family cottage.

“Mercer was depressed during the pandemic and began to use Omegle. Mercer had his microphone off while on Omegle, but he did communicate on Omegle by typing.”

US Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. slammed Mercer for “exploiting the youth, naivete and vulnerability” of multiple children to “create sexual exploitative images.”

“We are thankful to the brave witness who came forward to alert authorities of his crimes, and to the law enforcement who collected that evidence and ensured this offender was brought to justice,” Gorgon added.