WICHITA — An Arizona man who was arrested in Iola in March 2024 after officers realized the teen girl he was traveling with had been reported missing, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The United States Attorney’s Office announced in a press release Tuesday that Martin Brandon Gillen, 27, of Phoenix, had pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of transportation for criminal sexual activity, one count of transportation of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.
IN LATE 2021, Gillen began an online relationship with a minor female who was then 17 years of age, according to the press release.
He persuaded her to take and send him sexually explicit images and videos which he kept and later used to threaten the victim. Over the course of the online relationship, Gillen repeatedly made violent threats against the victim. In March 2024, Gillen traveled to Illinois to pick up the victim then transported her across state lines, from Illinois to Missouri to Kansas.
During this trip, Gillen sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions, prosecutors said.
Their journey ended with his arrest after a flat tire north of Iola disabled the vehicle.
Iola police officers spoke with Gillen as his vehicle was being towed for repairs, Iola Police Chief Jared Warner said. A short while later, officers received notification from Illinois that the teen girl had been reported missing.
DURING THE COURSE of Gillen’s arrest, officers found a firearm, multiple magazines and zip ties. Gillen also admitted to officers that his cell phone contained child sexual abuse materials.
Subsequent examination by law enforcement revealed hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse materials on his cell phone, as well as sexually explicit images of the female from when she was 17 years old. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also found images of Gillen sexually abusing an unrelated 4-year-old child from Utah on the phone.
A grand jury indicted Gillen on federal charges last July.
In addition to IPD and Homeland Security, the New Baden, Ill., Police Department assisted in the investigation.
