A 42-year-old Johnson Lane helicopter mechanic who traded nude videos of a 17-year-old girl in exchange for her use of his car was sentenced Tuesday to probation for an offense the judge said was "reprehensible."
He avoided charges on allegations that images of his daughters were captured on a camera reportedly hidden in a shower at his residence uncovered during the investigation.
Troy Marvin Creeks pleaded guilty in June to attempted use of a minor as subject of a sexual portrayal in a performance, a felony punshisable by up to 20 years in Nevada State Prison.
District Judge Dave Gamble sentenced Creeks to eight years in Nevada State Prison, suspended, and placed him on five years probation.
When informed there was evidence of a hidden camera in his bathroom shower that recorded pictures of his daughters, one a minor, Gamble asked why Creeks wasn't being prosecuted for a more serious crime.
Prosecutor Laurie Trotter said she was going by the plea agreement. She said suspected images of his daughters turned up late in the investigation.
Trotter said the girls' mother - Creeks' ex-wife - would not allow investigators to speak to them.
Creeks is subject to lifetime supervision by the state parole and probation department and must register as a sex offender.
Gamble said the sentencing on the video trade presented a challenge in the fact that state statute says a 16-year-old may have consensual sex, but the law under which Creeks was prosecuted protects minors up to age 18.
"In my experience, there has been a maturation of girls at an earlier and earlier age. I don't mean physically, I mean their sexuality. It's an awful part of our society," Gamble said. "Girls are making themselves available almost as a challenge to young boys. We don't need any adults contributing to it and that's what happened here."
Creeks was arrested in December after the victim's mother found a contract handwritten by the defendant that required the 17-year-old to perform nude in videos in exchange for use of a car.
According to reports, Creeks took the girl to Walmart and purchased a camera so she could make the videos which were to be sexually explicit.
"The Legislature gave us a broad range for crimes of this nature and calls upon me to fit each case into that matrix. I think parole and probation arrived at the exact punishment," Gamble said.
Trotter, urging active prison for Creeks, said the case was "a perfect example of the type of female we need to protect."
She also claimed that Creeks was driven to exploit pre-pubescent girls and young women in early adolescence.
Trotter said "thousands and thousands and thousands" of nude photos of women were recovered from a computer at Creeks' residence.
Gamble told Creeks' family that they must look out for the welfare of his daughters.
"The specter of this shower camera remains in my mind and my heart," he said. "I'm not going to step into the role of family court judge today, but this strikes fear into my heart. Nearly every sexual predator in this nation has some relatives who support them. These girls deserve protection. I don't know the truth about that camera but I know it's a bad thing. It's the one thing that gives me fear about the sentence."
He warned Creeks if he violates probation, he would go to prison.
Creeks was given credit for 13 days' custody.
Trotter also said Creeks used his daughter to get to the victim.
Lawyer Tod Young, representing Creeks, said he never had sex with the victim, sold or distributed the videos, or forced the victim into the agreement.
"Troy Creeks did not initiate the sexualization of this young woman. She had a child and I understand she is pregnant again," Young said.
Young said his client was a lonely sex addict.
"He spends an overwhelming amount of time thinking about sex. He is a very lonely man and that is at the core of a lot of our discussions," Young said.
Young said the requirements that Creeks be on lifetime supervision and register as a sex offender were "restrictions of his liberty."
"I know what I did was very, very stupid," Creeks said. "It will affect the rest of my life. If I could go back and change what I did, I would. I don't believe going to prison will make any difference in the outcome for me. I have to make changes and I already have done a lot."
The victim did not appear at Tuesday's sentencing.
Trotter said she believed the girl was embarrassed, but Young said the victim had attended several justice court proceedings and "didn't hold a grudge" against Creeks.
