Australian Man Caught in Arkansas Sting Operation Sentenced to More Than 28 Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation Offenses

FAYETTEVILLE - An Australian permanent resident was sentenced on May 12, 2026, to 345 months in federal prison without the possibility of parole to be followed by lifetime supervised release for distributing child pornography and possessing a phone containing child pornography. The Honorable Chief Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing, which was held in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, Gabriel Perkhofer, age 48, communicated with an undercover officer posing as the mother of two minor daughters. During the communications, Perkhofer described sexual acts that he wanted to perform and explicit images he wanted to produce with the minor daughters and sent two files of child pornography to the officer. Perkhofer thereafter traveled from Missouri to Arkansas to meet the "mother" and was arrested for state law violations. A subsequent review of Perkhofer's phone revealed a large, years-long collection of child pornography and extensive communications between Perkhofer and other child pornography offenders.

Perkhofer was indicted by a Grand Jury in the Western District of Arkansas in July of 2024 and entered a plea of guilty in December of 2025.

U.S. Attorney Kimberly D. Harris of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Benton County Sheriff's Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler Williams, Devon Still, and Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website at https://www.pacer.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..